Global digital tv is top-of-mind heading into the 33rd edition of mip-tv, running April 19 to 24 in Cannes, post the Canal +/Bertelsmann/ Havas strategic alliance plans with BSkyB announcement, which promises to fast-track digital tv in Europe.

Regina-based Evergreen Releasing chairman/ceo Kevin DeWalt says of the shifting licensing equilibrium, ‘I hope the value per territory doesn’t get diluted. That’s the unanswered question.’ DeWalt says people will have to certainly do a lot more work scrutinizing the footprint and spill of who they sell to.

Canadian distributors are packing an eclectic but impressive mix of new drama for the international tv program market, including Sullivan Entertainment’s Wind at My Back series, Cite-Amerique’s period miniseries Marguerite Volant, Salter Street’s Lexx sci-fi miniseries, Production sda’s Omerta: The Code of Silence undercover cop series distributed by Mediamax, Prisma Production’s Urgence medical drama series exported by Multimedia Group, Telefiction’s police miniseries 10-07 distribbed by Filmoption International, The Rez, repped by Paragon International, and Straight Up with Alliance, which is also debuting two pilots, Once A Thief and Toe Tags.

One of the most intriguing titles piloting at mip is Punch! International’s Dogs’ World, a creation of Punch! president Pierre Paquin (Surprise Sur Prise) starring a canine cast.

The premise of fancy car-driving mansion-dwelling dog tycoons who live humanoid lives rapidly garnered interest from France, Germany, Canada and the u.s., and Punch and its minority partner, The Talent Factory, a division of Belgium-based d&d, plans to nail down deals at mip.

Atlantis Releasing president Ted Riley says his foreign sales offices haven’t waited for mip-tv to build on Traders momentum; deals with half a dozen countries for the new series were being nailed down well in advance of the market.

In addition to an equally striking lineup of new children’s and documentary fare, Canadians are also lively on the conference agenda.

Three mornings of market simulations ‘animated by’ Pat Ferns anchor the events sked. ‘La Bourse aux Coproductions’ lineup includes youth programs on April 20, docs on the 22nd, and fiction on the 23rd. In other Ferns/mip doings, Banff Television Festival-nominated programs will be revealed on April 21.

Also on the new media-heavy mip announcement slate is unicef’s launch of a new animation producers consortium.

The market focus is on Latin America this year, and entails panels exploring the business opportunities and analysis of the telenovela. In addition to supplying the opening gala with a 50-piece mariachi orchestra and star Lucero, the spotlight has lured first-time attendees hailing from Argentina (Telefilms and Telefe) and Colombia (Caracol, RCN Television, Vista International).

This is also the first mip for Horizon Quebec, the new umbrella group for Quebec-based producers and distributors.

In addition to new alliances, such as Evergreen Releasing (a distribution joint venture between Regina’s Minds Eye Pictures and Toronto’s The Film Works), the international market attracts new efforts from established players.

Astral Distribution’s six-month-old export entity (which may change its name to Astral International) has been acquiring Canadian product and international rights since its first market, mifed, and is trying to expand the variety of its catalogue of features and telefilms so it can also cater to series buyers, and eventually children’s as well.

Heather Wyer, director, sales administration, is looking for quality, not volume, and says the decision to repatriate rights to library fare previously handled by outside agents came as the cable realm expanded and new markets such as Asia opened up: ‘They have a life.’

Also swelling the ranks (last year: 10,025 bodies from 2,245 companies from 107 countries) are mip debuts from Pearson Television International (a new entity comprised of aci, Thames Television International and Grundy International), Columbia TriStar International (u.s.), Pronet (buyers for Nethelands-based international pay-tv group) and Sweden’s Modern Cartoons Trash Development (Trash will demo how to use its realtime animation technique that lets live and cartoon characters interact).