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EL SEGUNDO: Canada’s pay-TV market is expected to peak this year, with penetration at an all-time high of 92 percent, according to an IHS Screen Digest Television Intelligence Market Monitor Report. After this year, subscription penetration is expected to start to decline, just slightly, due to economic issues and rising competition …

LAUSANNE: Canada’s national public radio and TV broadcaster CBC/Radio-Canada has scored the rights for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games and the 2016 Olympiad. The current Canadian broadcast partner for the 2012 Games is Bell Globemedia/Rogers Media. CBC/Radio-Canada will hold rights across all platforms in all languages for the 2014 Games in …

TORONTO: The fall prime-time lineup for Canada’s Global kicks off with the September 25 premiere of Vegas, starring Dennis Quaid and Michael Chiklis. Vegas, set in the 1960s, gets under way on September 25 at 10 p.m. The new drama Last Resort, from executive producer/writer Shawn Ryan (The Shield), follows …

TORONTO: Shaftesbury has elevated Ryan St. Peters to the newly expanded role of director of sales. In his new position, St. Peters will work under Shane Kinnear, the company’s senior VP of sales and marketing. He will be responsible for managing the strategies of U.S. and international sales, marketing and distribution …

OTTAWA: The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has approved the sale of Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment (MLSE) sports channels to Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE) and Rogers Communications, which will inject C$7.5 million into the Canadian production industry for new content. The transaction is valued at C$1.32 billion. The …

TORONTO: Writer and producer Peter Mohan, who serves as showrunner on The Listener, has inked an overall deal with Shaftesbury, effective until the end of 2013. Mohan will develop and executive produce exclusively for Shaftesbury. He will also serve as showrunner and executive producer of the fourth season of The …

TORONTO: Rogers Media has made moves to acquire the TV business of Score Media, in a C$167 million ($168.5 million) deal that includes the sports broadcaster theScore Television Network. Upon the closing of the deal, Score Media’s TV business—encompassing theScore sports channel, the closed-captioning service provider Voice2Visual and theScore Fighting Series—will go …

MONTREAL: Bell has established a joint-venture company with the circus troupe Cirque du Soleil to develop content for TV, film, digital and gaming platforms. The new company is headquartered in Montreal. Its activities will focus on the development of entertainment projects for licensing around the world. The outfit will incorporate …

TORONTO: Canada’s CHCH, Citytv, CTV and Global have dedicated one hour of commercial-free broadcast time on September 7 at 8 p.m. to air the special Stand Up to Cancer, a live fundraising event. Gwyneth Paltrow is executive producing the fundraising telecast with Joel Gallen, both of Tenth Planet Productions. The …

TORONTO: The Sony Movie Channel and AXN Movies have launched in Canada as part of the bouquet of offerings from Hollywood Suite. Sony Movies Channel, part of the Sony Pictures Television (SPT) portfolio, features award-winning films, cult classics, family comedies and dramas. AXN Movies showcases action and adventure films. Starting …