The longer U.S. writers remain on the picket lines, the better for CBC, according to media buyers, who are optimistic about the new offerings on the pubcaster’s winter slate, which were unveiled last week.

Kim Osborne, group director of broadcast at PHD Canada, tells Playback Daily that while viewers are loyal to U.S. programs on CTV and Global, they will be turned away by reruns if the WGA walkout, now entering its fourth week, drags on.

‘They’ll definitely start watching other programs they haven’t seen before,’ she says, noting that CBC’s new drama The Border will not face competition from Global stalwart 24 if the strike continues, giving it a chance to build its audience.

The Border, about Canadian agents working on the front lines of immigration post 9/11, will air Mondays at 9 p.m. beginning Jan. 7, opposite the newly acquired ABC drama October Road on CTV. The return of 24, which would normally air in that same slot on Global, has been pushed back by Fox indefinitely.

‘If the writers strike goes on, it has a really good chance,’ agrees Dennis Dinga, VP, director of broadcast buying at M2 Universal, noting that viewers may also be drawn in by its star, Sofia Milos of CSI: Miami fame.

The new comedy Sophie will have a tough time holding on to viewers generated by its lead-in Little Mosque on the Prairie on Wednesdays, according to buyers, who say that Sophie skews toward a younger female demographic.

‘The crowd that watches Mosque is going to be a little different than the crowd watching Sophie… Mosque attracts more adults in general than just women,’ says Osborne.

Meanwhile, the video game-themed jPod has big shoes to fill as it takes over from The Tudors, Tuesdays at 9 p.m. Dinga notes the ‘tech-y’ show will be hard-pressed to find a mainstream audience beyond the 18-24 crowd.

‘It will be tough, but it’s good to go for a different audience,’ he says, adding that CBC will have to ‘promote the heck out of’ its new shows during its December holiday broadcast schedule.

The soapy sports drama MVP has potential, according to Dinga, though he predicts it will be the first show on the cutting block if it doesn’t secure a decent following in the Friday 9 p.m. timeslot.

Over in daytime, the lifestyle show Steven & Chris (the original Designer Guys) gets thumbs up from Osborne, who says it has a chance to do well in the 2 p.m. timeslot following the similarly themed The Martha Stewart Show.

‘The 2 p.m. timeslot is really up for grabs across the board because the other networks are not really airing their top-of-the-line soaps at that time,’ she says.

Both Osborne and Dinga agree that The Tudors, Dragon’s Den and Heartland were the highlights on what has been a solid CBC fall schedule.

‘[CBC] definitely had a better fall as opposed to last year, judging by the audiences,’ says Osborne, adding that the pubcaster even exceeded its own estimates.

Dinga says the winter slate stacks up to the fall schedule, noting that even if the writers strike is over, ‘I think it will hold up pretty good.’