Spurred on by a bigger appetite for programming among U.S. cable broadcasters and domestic specialty channels — and a healthier international marketplace overall — Canadian production is continuing the rebound hinted at after 2005, according to Playback‘s 19th Annual Report on Independent Production.

Canadian production and development spending rose 21% in 2006 to $1.52 billion, the first significant increase since 2000, and up from $1.26 billion in 2005.

The annual report, based on a survey of Canadian production companies — 254 of which participated — arrives in the May 14 issue of Playback.

‘We certainly have a sense that production is on the upswing,’ says Guy Mayson, president and CEO of the CFTPA. ‘There are encouraging signs of a new step forward for the production sector, and a new level of activity and maturity.’

Mayson credits the boost to a bigger commitment by Canadian broadcasters — particularly established specialty channels — to indigenous programming. The international marketplace is also improving after a downswing that hit a low point around 2002.

‘There is more of a demand for programming worldwide,’ says Peter Emerson, head of Toronto-based distributor Oasis International.

MOWs, minis and pilots enjoyed the most significant year-over-year increases, up 50% to $286.8 million. Magazine/lifestyle/reality formats rose 49% to $114 million.

Alliance Atlantis maintained its position at the top of the indie production chart, with an estimated volume of $157 million (most of which spent on the U.S.-produced CSI franchise), followed by Vancouver’s Insight Film Studios, which nearly tripled its production volume to $120.8 million and jumped up from seventh spot. In third is Toronto- and Los Angeles-based Blueprint Entertainment, at $99.7 million.

Read the full story — including the complete chart, prodco listings, and a closer look at lifestyle programming — in the May 14 issue of Playback, online and on newsstands Friday.