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MONTREAL: Tom Perlmutter has decided to step down as the chair of the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) and government film commissioner, effective December 31. Perlmutter said he is leaving in order to devote himself to thinking and writing about the long-term issues affecting the arts and public cultural …

TORONTO: The first three seasons of Less Than Kind, a comedy drama from Breakthrough Entertainment, have become available on iTunes in Canada. Starring Jess Camacho, Less Than Kind focuses on an overweight teenage boy and his dysfunctional family. The show is co-produced by Breakthrough Entertainment and Buffalo Gal Pictures. It …

TORONTO: The newly formed digital arm of ole has made a publishing and sound recording A/V agreement with YouTube in a continuing effort to fully control its client and owned interests online. The direct deal with YouTube will protect client collections from the use of publishing, master recordings and audiovisual …

TORONTO: For the first time in several years, a Canadian series is the most-watched program in the country, The Amazing Race Canada, according to full-year data from BBM Canada. Overall, for regularly scheduled TV programs in 2013, The Amazing Race Canada was the top draw, with an average audience of …

PASADENA: Rogers Media is bringing the premium specialty channel FXX to Canada starting April 1. The network is billed as a younger-skewing, funnier extension of FX Canada. It features FX original scripted series, acquired movies and series and will also boast original Canadian programs. FXX will be available on free …

LONDON: NBCUniversal International Television Production has acquired a minority equity stake in Lark Productions, a Canadian production house that is behind the successful crime series Motive. The two have been working together since Lark's inception in 2010, when NBCU provided development financing and acted as an international distributor for several …

MONTREAL: The Canadian production outfit Attraction Images has purchased LP8 Média, producers of such shows as The Parents and A Star's Life in Lyrics. Attraction Images houses a number of entertainment production companies, with a catalogue of more than 1,200 hours of TV, 13 feature films and more than 20 …

TORONTO: Bell Media has elevated Nanci MacLean and Justin Stockman to VP of Bell Media production and VP of specialty channels, respectively. In their new posts, which are effective immediately, MacLean and Stockman will continue to work under Catherine MacLead, the company's senior VP of specialty channels and Bell Media …

TORONTO: Peace Point Rights has a slate of new scripted series and docs it's scheduled to present at next month’s MIPTV. The new dramedy Signed, Sealed, Delivered, from Muse Entertainment in association with Moonwater Productions, follows four civil servants in the U.S. Postal Service who decide to deliver letters lost for …

TORONTO: Industry vet Trent Locke has been tapped to join Portfolio Entertainment’s executive management and strategy team as the company’s new VP of finance and COO. Locke will work directly with Lisa Olfman and Joy Rosen, Portfolio’s CEOs. His duties will encompass strategy and new business development, along with finance …