The decision by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to move the Genies from longtime broadcast partner CBC to CHUM is a compelling play.

Any big question marks are underlined by the fact the deal is only for one year. Obviously nobody is certain the experiment will work.

One issue is that ratings are sure to fall since outside of Toronto and Vancouver, where the show will go to air on respective City stations, the broadcast will be available nationally only on a pair a specialty nets, Bravo! and Star!.

But the Genie broadcast has never been, what you might call, a benchmark-setter in terms of ratings.

This is a move by both parties to pick up credibility in areas each has identified as critical for long-term success.

In the case of CHUM, the media company is quickly moving to establish itself as a player in the feature film market. It has high hopes with a pair of movies and has been upping its profile in the market since a 2002 Telefilm Canada ruling that allows broadcaster-affiliated production companies to access the Canada Feature Film Fund. CHUM just began shooting its first in-house feature under the working title The Road Movie. Earlier this year, CHUM invested heavily in Decoys (produced by Sound Venture Productions of Ottawa and Sci-Fi Productions of Montreal) and has committed $500,000 for on-air promos. It is also putting promotion money behind the Alliance Atlantis release Foolproof.

The company already had a presence in the market thanks to MT-MovieTelevision and its annual Toronto International Film Festival Schmooze, which has grown to be the hottest party of the festival.

As for the Academy, its mandate is to promote, recognize and celebrate exceptional achievements in film and television. It is not the fault of the Academy that most Canadians find little to be excited about on the big screen when it comes to Canadian fare. The deal with CHUM goes in the right direction in terms of promoting the industry. The broadcast will attract a younger and more ethnically diverse audience, which should be the goal of the film business as a whole. Being a private broadcaster, CHUM will also likely put more promotion behind the program since it will need to generate viewer interest and increased ad revenue.

CHUM will add some much-needed zip to an awards program that has been creaking along for many years, generating about as much excitement outside the film industry as a dripping faucet. (In an attempt to add more star power, the Genies is also resurrecting categories for foreign actors in Canadian features.)

The partnership should make the awards hip by association. CHUM has a long track record of being innovative. In-house-produced awards shows such as the MuchMusic Video Awards are typically very edgy and experimental, with quick pacing and multiple stages or locations, which keeps audience members attentive, if sometimes slightly confused.

Since Canadian movie audiences skew a little older than that of MuchMusic, it’s a safe bet that the Genies will not go the limit, but you know the 2004 Genies will have little in common with its predecessors.

Hell, even CBC head of programming Slawko Klymkiw is excited about the move and endorsed the changing of the guard in an Academy press release.

Seems the verdict is unanimous.