VANCOUVER — CBC insists it hasn’t yet made a decision about Intelligence, and media buyers remain upbeat about Chris Haddock’s beleaguered series, despite its weakening ratings. But word from the set is that there won’t be a third season.

The crime drama ended its second season with a two-hour finale this month and, according to CBC, attracted an average of 263,000 eyeballs this year, down from 312,00 in 2006/07. The season peaked at 327,000 and drew 315,000 to the closer.

‘It’s definitely at the low end of our primetime performers,’ says CBC spokesman Jeff Keay. ‘The first season’s numbers were relatively low, too, but those who loved it, loved it a lot, and so we brought it back for another season on a new night.’

Keay says it is not yet known if the series will be brought back. ‘We haven’t made a decision yet. That will happen in February,’ he says.

However, a source close to the project and the production company, who spoke to Playback Daily on condition of anonymity, says Haddock’s company has notified staff not to expect their contracts to be renewed for season three. The staff believes the series has been dropped.

Neither Chris Haddock — who is working on a possible U.S. version of the show for Fox — nor anyone else from Haddock Entertainment was available for comment.

The series debuted Tuesdays at 9 p.m. against the mighty House on Global, but moved this year to the same time on Mondays.

But the switch didn’t improve ratings, and Haddock has recently been at war with CBC in the media, claiming the net was sabotaging the series by not promoting it. CBC answered that it has a limited promotional budget, and many other shows to push.

Ad buyers, however, still see value in Intelligence.

‘I would buy it. It’s a good quality property,’ says Hugh Dow of M2 Universal in Toronto, though, ‘it depends on the price. At the end of the day, key factors are the price it’s being sold at and the demographic it’s attracting. It may not have a large audience, but I look at it [Intelligence] as a niche market.’

Florence Ng, at Zenith Optimedia concurs. ‘The numbers are low, sub-par. But it can be a function of a number of things. Promotion plays a part, yes and no. If the show isn’t good, if it doesn’t appeal to an audience, all the promotion you do won’t make a difference,’ she says. ‘The longevity of a program is not a function of audience. CBC has a timeslot to offer, it does not rely on U.S. suppliers. I do not think they will replace or pull a show based on the numbers.’

Keay says that, ‘we look at four key factors when assessing a show: the public value of the program in our role as public broadcaster…audience size, revenues, and cost.’

Regardless of the Ceeb’s decision, ‘we know that this is a quality, marketable show,’ said another Intelligence staffer, who also declined to be named.