New seasons of animated and factual series such as Atomic Betty and Plastic Makes Perfect headed to Las Vegas market

So, three months into this U.S. writers strike and quel mess! Nielsen Online recently reported that traffic to a number of online video (OV) sites has doubled since the strike began. Anyone who imagined that digging in their heels would somehow protect the television industry from the online invasion sure got that wrong.

Bravo to Playback!

Film marketing expert Grace Cianciotta succumbed to breast cancer on Jan. 7 at Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto. She was 43.

• At Alliance Films, Mark Slone has been upped to SVP of Odeon Films. Formerly SVP of marketing and publicity, he is now responsible for U.S., Canadian and international theatrical releases.

• Naked News has struck a series of franchise agreements that will see its clothing-free coverage produced in Spanish, Italian and Korean. The Toronto-based netcaster, which boasts viewers in 172 nations, says it is looking to be a more international service, ‘much like CNN or BBC World.’

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No one is predicting a banner year, but the industry in the Prairies is optimistic about the pending season despite bleak production forecasts elsewhere for 2008.

Calgary is one step closer to getting a much-needed studio complex.

Prairie comedies will go face to face at next month’s ‘for producers by producers’ awards at Prime Time. McDonald’s Tracey Fragments in the running with Polley and Cronenberg

Winnipeg is dropping the axe on jobs at Alliance Atlantis and its new parent, following final approval of the deal by the CRTC. AA’s John Gill is gone, but one source says its sales department will be spared