Canwest is back on board as the Gemini Awards’ broadcast partner, taking over from CBC with a two-year commitment and a plan to showcase the annual Canuck TV awards extravaganza on both conventional channel E! and specialty Showcase.

Canwest has the option to use multiple outlets since it acquired the specialty channels of Alliance Atlantis, and Christine Shipton says it’s the ideal way to grab a more diverse audience for the Geminis.

‘It’s an experiment, but [E! and Showcase are] also a good complement to each other,’ says Shipton, SVP of drama and factual content at Canwest. ‘E! is a tremendously good environment for any kind of awards show…it has a very strong female audience, while Showcase [reaches] a more split adult audience that is slightly older.’

E! is available in 70% of Canadian homes, while Showcase has more than seven million subscribers nationwide.

In airing homegrown shows such as Durham County and The Guard, Shipton says Showcase is a channel that ‘celebrates Canadian drama,’ adding that it ‘makes sense’ to place the Geminis there.

The Nov. 28 televised gala will air live-to-tape in the 9 p.m. timeslot, and returns to Toronto after two years on the road, first in Richmond, BC in ’06, followed by Regina last year.

Canwest once again faces the challenge of generating the kind of numbers that often elude award shows. It has a weak track record as far as Gemini ratings go – averaging in the low 200,000s for the 2005 and ’06 editions of the awards shows that aired on Global. (All numbers 2+.)

Last year, CBC was able to turn around lackluster ratings, scoring the highest audience in at least six years when nearly 450,000 eyeballs tuned in for the Regina gala, hosted by The Hour’s George Stroumboulopoulos.

Talent negotiations are currently underway at Canwest, which at press time had yet to lock in a host and celebrity presenters for the gala.

‘So much of creative is going to come from the host that we sign, frankly,’ says Gemini veteran Lynn Harvey, who returns to produce the show this year.

With production still in the early stages, she would only hint that they’re looking at going in a ‘comedic direction.’

‘We’re good at comedy in Canada…having someone to bridge the handing out of the awards with humor is key,’ Harvey says.

The producer also favors the shorter one-hour format for the gala.

‘In this day and age two hours is a big commitment…I think people have short attention spans, so [it’s better to] have a really tight hour with the biggest awards the public cares about,’ she says.

Shipton believes the high caliber of well-known Canuck shows and their stars – such as Hugh Dillon of Durham County and cast from Corner Gas and The Border – will generate more viewer interest.

‘These award shows are as good as the shows being nominated, and this is a banner year,’ she says.

Canwest is planning a red-carpet special and will feature winners on ET Canada and E! News weekend. It plans to cross-promote the gala on all its channels, while the show will also be marketed on websites including eonline.com.