Autumn is a time of stunningly hued foliage, hockey’s return and the kiddies dressing up as Spider-Man and little princesses. It’s also when the private networks launch their new programming lineups out into the fickle, unpredictable world of TV viewers, unveiling new series and new seasons of old favorites – both original and acquired, but mostly acquired.

And that means it’s time for Playback writers to pore over scheduling grids and ratings data, to talk to media buyers and the broadcasters themselves, and then get out their marking pens and decide who’s going to graduate with honors and who might have to repeat.

The longstanding fight for supremacy between CTVglobemedia and Canwest Global offers Canadian broadcasting’s juiciest battle. At some points it is more of a real dogfight than others, but it is always interesting. However, as both sides tout whatever gains they’ve made, the story this year is overshadowed by the fact that, this fall, overall conventional TV viewing in English Canada is down 6-7% from last year, according to sources from both casters.

If that wasn’t enough bad news, the day before Halloween the CRTC dished out its own little trick and treat to the casters, unveiling new policies for the Canadian broadcasting system. While the conventional casters scored a victory in that they are now allowed to enter negotiations with the cable and satellite companies over distant signals – through which only the carriers currently profit – their long-fought request for fee-for-carriage from said carriers has come to naught.

It wasn’t clear where the commission was going on this one. It shot down the same idea a couple of years ago, and then, surprisingly, CRTC chair Konrad von Finckenstein told the crowd at last year’s CAB conference that it would reopen the matter in its hearings for BDUs and specialty services.

The regulator’s message to the casters can now be interpreted as, ‘Sure, we’ll take your concerns seriously, but the answer is still no.’

In its decision, the CRTC acknowledged the networks’ declining profits, but wrote that those requesting fee-for-carriage had not adequately explained what role those companies’ recent mega-acquisitions had played in that drop.

The tremendous amounts of cash CTVgm and Canwest laid out to bolster their respective specialty-channel stable – remember, the latter needed a U.S. bank to make it happen – were no mere flights of fancy. According to Statistics Canada, a decade ago, conventional TV accounted for 79% of broadcasting revenues; today, at the hands of the burgeoning specialty and pay services, that number has plummeted to 55%.

So, although there is no denying the networks’ argument that their conventional business is hurting, much of that business is going to the other properties that they went to such great lengths to acquire, so their overall health is not so greatly impacted.

The erosion of the conventional business is inevitable in the digital age. And although the casters vehemently disagree with the CRTC’s decision, they are going to have to adjust their long-term plans accordingly.

And there was Mr. Finckenstein, back at this year’s CAB’s party, explaining why the answer on fee-for-carriage is still no.

‘How the fees would contribute to the system – we didn’t hear that,’ he told the gathering of long-faced broadcasters, in reference to the earlier hearings.

In other words, would this be just a bailout because revenues are shifting or business plans are flawed, or would you do some good work with this money that would be extracted from the BDUs, ultimately at the expense of the consumer?

It’s not clear, but it sounds like the commission is leaving the door open to the casters to try again, and stepping up their commitment on Canadian production might be what gets them inside.