Despite a hefty marketing push and big-name host Nelly Furtado, the Juno Awards failed to find an audience on par with last year’s show, drawing 912,000 viewers to CTV, compared to the 1.7 million reported by the network and by BBM in 2006.

The exact ratings for last year’s show are debatable, however, because BBM’s numbers differed considerably from those of its then-competitor Nielsen, which put the audience for the 2006 Junos at 1.2 million.

The difference works out to a drop in ratings somewhere between 25% and 46%. BBM and Nielsen have since joined forces.

The 2007 Junos were a scheduling headache for CTV. Just days before the annual Canadian music awards, the broadcast was pushed back to a late timeslot across the country in order to make room for the simulcast of a two-hour special of CBS’ The Amazing Race. Following pressure from the music industry, the awards were moved to 7p.m. ET and aired live from Saskatoon.

Programming boss Susanne Boyce said CTV is ‘extremely proud’ of the broadcast in a release. The Amazing Race ran out of simulcast at 9 p.m. ET, to one million viewers.

Meanwhile, the network experienced an uptick with Degrassi: The Next Generation, which enjoyed a rebound in its new Wednesday timeslot after American Idol, drawing 645,000 viewers at 9:30 p.m. on March 28 — up 39% from its season-to-date average following its November premiere on Tuesdays. CTV recently ordered 24 new episodes of the teen drama, up from 19.

CTV’s rerun of the MOW Shades of Black, about embattled media baron Conrad Black and shrewdly aired in the thick of his Chicago trial on March 23 at 8 p.m., drew 426,000 viewers — not bad considering the Friday timeslot and the 864,000 viewers for its premiere in December.

Over on Global, The Black Donnellys has gone dark following a move by NBC to replace the crime drama with a new reality series, The Real Wedding Crashers, after April 16. Variety is reporting that the series — exec produced and directed by Canadian darling Paul Haggis — has been cancelled, though the official word from NBC and Global remains vague.

Donnellys, which airs opposite CSI: Miami on Mondays, drew a soft 459,000 viewers March 19 on Global, dropping to 421,000 the following week.

Meanwhile, Prison Break, a consistent winner for Global, ended its second season on a high note Monday with an average of 1.6 million viewers. The series has been picked up for a third season by Fox.

Looking ahead, Global will debut Painkiller Jane on Saturday, April 21 at 10 p.m., putting the Canuck-made sci-fi up against CTV’s plastic surgery series Nip/Tuck. The net moved Nip/Tuck from its Sunday 10 p.m. timeslot to make room for Criminal Minds, which was shuffled from Tuesdays to make room for Dancing with the Stars.

Over on CBC, Royal Canadian Air Farce celebrated its 300th episode on Friday with an hour-long live-to-air show, which drew a respectable 764,000 viewers. The sketch-comedy mainstay featured guest appearances by Sitara Hewitt from Little Mosque on the Prairie and Fred Ewanuick of Corner Gas.