Mid-season trend identification is never a walk in the park, and with Superbowl festivities giving the top 10 that CanWest domination feel and ACNielsen ratings awol for part of January, a shift in the programming landscape is difficult to peg. But here’s the thing: Baton Broadcasting is catching up.

It’s not that Seinfeld/Friends/ Frasier etc., are slipping from their favored positions with the ad agencies, or that Global isn’t acing Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Baton is holding its own on Wednesdays, but there’s little evidence anything other than The Drew Carey Show and perhaps Ellen are positioned to go after the big money next season.

It isn’t even its new Vancouver licence or its entry into mmds with a piece of the Teleglobe Canada application.

Rather, the sense the new Baton is finding its sea legs is more in the adding up of bits and pieces.

Take for example, its scooping the rights to Atlantis Films’ hot property Gene Roddenberry’s Battleground Earth. The series, already sold via Tribune Entertainment to 80% of the u.s., had Citytv written all over it, an apt companion to its Star Trek:Voyager and Deep Space Nine properties. But Battleground, 22 episodes of which will begin shooting in May, will call the Baton slate home, with its commitment to back the project with a hefty promotions budget one of the deciding factors.

On the topic of promotion: what’s with the on-air strategy? Creditophiles are gnashing teeth as teensy names appear at the bottom quarter of the screen and then roll under a standalone box at the end of every program in Baton’s primetime stable. In the box are promo clips for its other offerings including this month’s film cache (True Lies, When a Man Loves a Woman, Look Who’s Talking). Annoying maybe, but nevertheless a sign of an increased promo budget, which can only be a good thing for producers. Word is Baton is spending equal to what CanWest spends on promotion. Read: a lot.

Then there’s the small victories. Case in point, Entertainment Now, a slick little in-house number that packages a profile of Canadian actor Jeremy Holz (The Newsroom, Speed 2) between interviews with Kevin Spacey and David Bowie, and is taking the Saturday night 7 p.m. slot against chch-tv’s rebirth of Linehan and City’s MovieTelevision. The numbers aren’t spectacular, but then again it’s Saturday night, and the budget is finite.

All of this could foreshadow increased competition in the big picture. The l.a. screenings and who scores what for the 1997/98 season is gearing up to be particularly interesting, with both Baton and wic reportedly already spending like their bottom lines were as healthy as CanWest’s, and sending prices up in the process.

At the same time, wic is prepping for its entry into Ottawa with a new on-air look and live television broadcasts taking place simultaneously in Ottawa, Toronto and Hamilton on Feb. 17. The New Yearsesque festivities will begin with a countdown at 5:30 p.m. for viewers in the chch area, with the proverbial switch being thrown at 6 p.m.

In addition to u.s. fare jag, Touched by an Angel, Profiler and The Pretender, chch will be beaming in Cancon new to the Ottawa market including Madison, Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys, Linehan and the chch-produced The Morning Market. In the upcoming season, Salter Street/ Cinar’s Emily of New Moon will also be part of the package.

Perhaps wic’s promotion budget will expand proportionate to its reach, which with Ottawa will be on par with Baton’s and Global’s. Perhaps chch will begin to get its money’s worth from Suddenly Susan. Perhaps the ratings strata will be more fun to watch next season.

-Invisible Nation, visible ratings

The partnership concept is getting a workout for the March 12 airing of Invisible Nation, a one-hour documentary exploring the immigration underground in Canada and the officers who enforce policy.

Magazine writer Lindalee Tracey is taking her considerable story-telling talent to the small screen in her first film product since Abby, I Hardly Knew Ya, which garnered a Genie nomination.

Directed by Tracey, the project is the first recipient of the Rogers Documentary Fund monies and is inspired by her multi-award winning article for Toronto Life about what she calls the cat-and-mouse world of illegal immigrants and immigration officers. It’s the first time a doc crew has been allowed access to the operations of some 36 immigration investigators. Husband and prolific documentary filmmaker Peter Raymont produces.

By the looks of the distribution network, the program had its own difficulties getting into the country. Invisible Nation will air at 10 p.m. est on tvontario and cfcf-tv in Montreal, at 7 p.m. pst on the b.c. Knowledge Network, and at 8 p.m. mst on Access Alberta Network and Saskatchewan Communications Network.

Speaking of programs that may have a hard time getting national distribution, Quebec’s first gay newsmagazine launched Feb. 2 on CF Cable and Videotron. C’est Comme Ca! is hosted by Richard Lapierre and Gazelle editor Claudine Metcalfe.

In other doc-related news, the first batch of ratings are in for Dawn of the Eye and Women: A True Story, the mega docs in process from cbc and ctv respectively.

The Jan. 26 telecast of Dawn of the Eye, up against the Superbowl, hit a 3.6 rating in the 18+ demographic according to ACNielsen’s Toronto/Hamilton People Metres. In the 18-49 skew a 2.8; a 3.8 in 25-54; and a 4.8 in the 55+ demo. Males scored higher than females, with men a 4.9 in the 25-54 demo and women a 2.8 for the same skew.

The premiere of ctv’s $3.6 million Women series opened in the 10 p.m. slot Monday, Jan. 20 with a 2.3 in the 18+ crowd; a 2 with 18-49; a 2.4 in 25-54; and a 3.1 in 55+. Women 18-49 ran to a 3.2; women 25-54 a 3.7. Scheduling was a difficult pull considering Chicago Hope skews heavy female. For the Jan. 20 telecast, Chicago Hope took a 12.1 in the women 18-49 category; a 13.8 amongst women 25-54.

-NBC corrals Schindler’s List

NBC is telecasting Schindler’s List Sunday, Feb. 23 sans commercial breaks. Seems Ford is the only sponsor for the whole 3.5-hour event, reportedly paying for a full eight minutes of commercials, although only two of its spots will bookend the program. Two breaks are scheduled through the night in which for almost two minutes, the movie title and the Ford logo will appear on the screen. Eerie. Pavlov would have something to say about this.

Canadian broadcasters will reap zip from the telecast. Mr. Spielberg has requested u.s. net distribution only, meaning nbc will be the only place to find it. ctv is running The Thornbirds, parts one and two. Fox and thus CanWest aren’t taking it lying down, running a full slate of the usual Sunday night hooha, all new episodes except Outer Limits.

-Valentine’s festivities

Barely recovered from Christmas, and now what. Silly season: the return. In the real world, hearts, flowers, all that goo. In television, plot lines that make your teeth rattle.

Valentine’s Day combined with heavy couch-potato month translates into increased competition for eyeballs, focusing this year on special guest appearances in regular sitcoms versus the specials spectacular of the old February sweeps.

wic will air the second of a two-part special of Pearl Feb. 13, as, go figure, Danny DeVito stars as a blind date who falls head over heels for series star Rhea Perlman. Alice Cooper and Ted Danson appeared in the Feb. 5 episode.

Also on the 13th, Shallow Grave and Trainspotting star Ewan McGregor will take nurse Hathaway hostage in a convenience store robbery on er. The Warner Bros. bumpf quotes McGregor saying he’s always enjoyed the show. ‘To be in it will be a trip.’

Copious other examples present themselves, but the mind g’es numb. Why Jodie Foster wanted to be the voice of an evil tattoo on The X-Files is anybody’s guess. At least Traders’ Bruce Gray was afforded quality time in person with Heather Locklear in his Melrose Place cameo Feb. 3.

Closer to home, Life Network is getting much mileage out of one day. Martha Stewart Living showed viewers how to grow roses, make chocolate hearts and use a paper pastry bag earlier this month. Her Canadian equivalent Sue Warden will demonstrate how to create a Valentine Card Memory Box Feb. 11. Finally, What’s For Dinner?, Life’s most popular cooking program, will air two special programs Feb. 12 and 13, the latter a step-by-step through ­ wait for it ­ Love Me Tender Fried Chicken.

Closer to home, wtn is going full throttle with the Canadian premiere of u.k. production The Perfect Match Feb. 15, followed the next night by Brides: A Tale of Two Weddings and Cat On a Hot Tin Roof.

While all make the most of love month, details of May sweeps programming are starting to surface. Wings, long a Global standby, has been grounded for good, with the 175th and last episode airing May 21. Mad About You has the birth scheduled for May 20. May 18 will air the 3D season finale for 3rd Rock from the Sun. Coke is distributing the glasses in the States. Global is working on a distribution plan here.