Barbara Williams had a new strategy at the L.A. screenings this year – to focus on new shows from U.S. nets that are positioned around returning hits already held by Global Television. The result is the network’s impressive 2006/07 lineup, unveiled at its peppy, interactive upfront presentation earlier this month in Toronto.

‘We know where our power in returning shows is, but we also knew clearly where our holes were and where we had good simulcast opportunities, and we tried to capitalize on those,’ says Williams, senior VP of programming and production at Global parent CanWest MediaWorks.

Key examples, says Williams, include the new Fox mystery Vanished, which will simulcast Monday nights after its sophomore hit Prison Break, also simulcast by Global. On Sundays, the net will simulcast Calista Flockhart’s return in Brothers & Sisters, which ABC will air after its hit Desperate Housewives in the U.S., and it has added the new James Woods legal drama Shark to its Thursday nights at 10 p.m., which originates on CBS in the slot following CSI.

Most of Global’s new U.S. programs are simulcasts, something CTV – with the mixed blessing of too many returning hits – was unable to offer media buyers with many of its new shows. For example, CTV is airing new comedies Let’s Rob… and 30 Rock in the Saturday 9 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. slots, after their midweek runs on ABC and NBC, respectively.

‘As programmers, we have our own judgments about what shows we feel are going to appeal to our viewers, but it is also about looking carefully at what the American networks are positioning as their best bets and trying to take full advantage,’ says Williams.

Global has played the steady second fiddle in the ratings for the last few years now as CTV has wisely picked up hot dramas and buzz shows at the L.A. screenings. But based on this year’s pickups in L.A., Dennis Dinga, VP, director of broadcast buying at M2 Universal, believes Global is on the comeback trail.

‘It is absolutely safe to say Global will have a better year in terms of top 10 and top 20 programming,’ says Dinga. ‘What Global bought this year is better than what CTV bought. Whether it was their primary objective or that there weren’t many good comedies in L.A., Global purchased more dramas, and I think that is going to do well by them.’

Global, which has drawn criticism over the years for its lack of Cancon, has noticeably beefed up its Canadian slate for ’06/07, with several titles debuting midseason. Two of the new shows – the counter-terrorism drama Quills, a copro by Pebblehut Productions, and the university drama Class, supported by U.S. net The N and executive produced by Aaron Martin (Degrassi: The Next Generation) – are in preproduction. Specifics about the series, says Williams, will be available soon.

Canadian productions will also be prevalent on Global’s sister net CH, which has two-hour blocks on Thursdays, Saturday and Sundays in its fall schedule dedicated to movies, many of which will be filled by MOWs the net shares with Lifetime Television, as well as Hollywood blockbusters.

CH’s fall lineup also includes the new Fox comedy ‘Til Death, starring Brad Garrett from Everybody Loves Raymond, and the TNT medical drama Saved. The network will also be rebranded this season, says Williams.

‘We want a schedule that CH can clearly own and use to provide stability and reliability for its viewers,’ says Williams. ‘We need to build a brand around that schedule that will help to define it as distinct from Global.’

She says CH’s fall lineup reveals a potential new direction for the net. While Global is very drama heavy, CH offers more in the way of non-scripted series and original movies, in addition to a few new and proven dramas and comedies. Williams would not offer any other details on the rebrand, but said it would be completed by January, if not earlier.

The upfront – held at Toronto’s Massey Hall on June 7 – was likely CanWest’s best in recent memory, and far different than the clip-heavy CTV event held two days earlier. Hosted by ET Canada’s Cheryl Hickey instead of executives, with ETC reporters interviewing stars of Global programs in the audience and giving away prizes, the event was a certified crowd-pleaser even before comic Howie Mandel took the stage for an abridged version of Global’s returning hit game show Deal or No Deal.

‘We wanted to put on a show,’ says Williams. ‘We’re in the entertainment business and the whole purpose of the day was to get people excited about the kind of entertainment we’re going to be offering in the fall.’