The broadcast of the annual television fete is entering a new era at CBC, which returns this year as the Gemini Awards’ main caster.

Charged with the task of turning around the declining fortunes of a show that has experienced lackluster ratings since the early 2000s is CBC programming boss Kirstine Layfield, who remains upbeat about the pubcaster’s chances to ‘rejuvenate’ the Geminis.

‘We see this as an opportunity to reinvent the show,’ says Layfield. ‘We make the most Canadian television, therefore we should be a big part of celebrating the success of Canadian TV,’ adds the programmer, who was key in the decision to return the show to the pubcaster.

CBC has a long history with the Geminis, having broadcast the show all but three times since 1986. CTV took over broadcasting duties in 1989, and Global jumped on board in 2005, after Layfield’s predecessor Slawko Klymkiw suggested the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television look for alternate broadcasters to shoulder the responsibility of producing the show. CBC had been generating ratings between 200,000 and 300,000 at that time, while in its recent two-year run on Global, the show drew a mediocre 200,000 viewers, scheduled on Saturday nights opposite CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada.

Layfield says ratings are important, noting: ‘Any increase to what it was last year is going to be a benefit.’

A live-to-tape broadcast from Regina on Sunday, Oct. 28 in the coveted 8 p.m. slot – same in every time zone – should help ratings, and so should a locked one-hour length.

For its part, Global remains involved in the Geminis, and will cover the red carpet through its ET Canada at the Geminis pre-show special.

‘We didn’t think about it as giving it up – we think about it as sharing it. CBC was interested in doing it again, and we were interested in still staying involved…so we came up with this great way to share it,’ says CanWest MediaWorks VP of programming and production Barbara Williams.

CBC, hoping to draw younger viewers, has tasked George Stroumboulopoulos, host of its trendy news magazine The Hour, to exec produce and host the show.

‘[George] and his team have worked on a lot of great award shows like the MMVAs [when they were at CHUM]…we think it’s going to bring a new feel to the show,’ says Layfield.

Stroumboulopoulos will exec produce alongside veteran Steve Sloan, whose credits include past CBC Gemini and Genie shows and the NHL Awards.

Sloan says the team is currently in the process of gathering presenters, shooting skits and planning an ‘exciting’ opening that will involve Stroumboulopoulos and a number of familiar faces.

‘We’re relying on our strengths for comedy, so we’re going to promote the show through comedy,’ he hints, adding that they may also incorporate a musical act.

Sloan says it’s a challenge to draw viewers to awards shows in general, adding that more attention was paid to television in the days when the Geminis were a popular choice on the dial, drawing 1.2 million viewers in 1995.

‘It’s absolutely in the back of our minds,’ he says. ‘Back then, there weren’t as many choices…there wasn’t the Internet as it is now, and video games.’

Cross-promotion will be a key part of the awareness campaign for the Geminis, as CBC and Global partner up to promote the main gala and red carpet on both networks.

‘It’s really a statement of cooperation between a public and private broadcaster that’s never been done before,’ says Williams.

‘It’s a great collaboration,’ agrees Layfield, adding that the Geminis will also benefit from on-air promotion through the return of ratings winners including HNIC, Little Mosque on the Prairie and The Rick Mercer Report.