As part of its fall launch schedule presentation, the cbc announced that the new national supper-hour newscast that will surrender a half-hour to local newscasts from 14 stations across the country, will be headquartered in Vancouver and anchored by Ian Hanomansing.

‘We were being selective. Vancouver is the second largest English-speaking centre in the country,’ says Harold Redekopp, vp of cbc. ‘We’re trying to steer away from Toronto.’

Commercial time during the new national newscast, which has yet to be scheduled (6 p.m. or 6:30 p.m.), will be cut from six to 12 minutes as part of a plan to also reduce the Corp.’s reliance on commercial revenue. As indicated by Redekopp in May, 40% of the cbc’s budget comes from commercial revenue – a 5% increase from five years ago, and a potentially self-defeating situation given the fragmentation in the Canadian broadcast market.

While the announcement of the new newscast is part of the cbc’s English-language transformation plan, Redekopp says, ‘When we completely unveil the entire plan, I think we’ll have a strong case for more [federal] funding.’

Meanwhile, the Corp. will usher in the fall season with the opening ceremonies of the summer Olympic Games and will ultimately cover an unprecedented 291 hours from Sydney, Australia. (cbc has exclusive Canadian broadcast rights for the next five Olympic Games.)

Another highlight of cbc’s fall season is the 16-part, 30-hour doc series Canada: A People’s History.

A cbc/Radio-Canada coproduction, created in English and French, A People’s History tells the story of Canada through the eyes of Canadians.

The epic series, which will be launched on cbc and src simultaneously in October and will run for the following two years, is exec produced by Mark Starowicz. It is also shot on wide-screen digital and is the centrepiece in a multimedia initiative that includes English and French websites, a two-volume book set, home and educational video sets and a cd of the original score.

New series on the cbc dial include: Rhombus Media and Ken Finkleman’s dramatic series Foreign Objects; the live-action, teen series Our Hero from Decode Entertainment; Forefront Entertainment’s hour-long drama series These Arms of Mine; six episodes of the comedy series The Broad Side from Jane Ford and Diane Flacks; and the 13-part, half-hour comedy series p.r. from Sullivan Entertainment.

Movies on the cbc horizon include: Bernie Zukerman’s mows Chasing Cain and Revenge of the Land, directed by John N. Smith (The Boys of St. Vincent); Alliance Atlantis Communications’ Harry’s Case; Catalyst Entertainment’s Virtual Mom; the Bernie Zukerman/Cinar Corp. coprod Heart: The Marilyn Bell Story; and Scorn by Sturla Gunnarsson (Such a Long Journey).

Needless to say, 90% of cbc’s 2000/01 schedule is Canadian.

www.cbc.ca