showcase has put a hold on its funding commitment to original Canadian content until a fees agreement is reached with the cable companies.

Originally, 15 30-minute productions were to be commissioned with licence fees running $250,000 per project. The plan was to produce three each year for the five-and-a-half year licence term, but the slate is empty this year and will be until negotiations are settled, says Audrey Cole, vp of programming for Showcase.

Showcase still anticipates producing the series of one-offs which will air under the Showcase Originals umbrella, but the production schedule depends on when cable fees are established, says Cole.

The Cancon distribution has stayed constant in the Showcase fall schedule, 60% overall and 100% in primetime. codco is back, along with Canadian series Diamonds, Friday the 13th, Hidden Room, Bordertown and Northwood.

In the daytime, Eric’s World and three Canada/New Zealand coproductions will air: All for One, Raiders of the South Seas and Star Runner, coproduced by Atlantis Communications, New Zealand-based South Pacific Pictures and tvnz.