Despite a strong promotional campaign for its new primetime series, the cbc is reluctant to reveal early ratings figures for the season premieres of DaVinci’s Inquest (Barna-Alper/Chris Haddock Productions) and Made in Canada (Salter Street).

However, according to production sources from both shows, AC Nielsen overnights reveal that Rick Mercer’s highly touted satire of the entertainment industry Made in Canada pulled in an average of 1,002,000 viewers for its Oct. 5 premiere, while DaVinci, a Vancouver coroner office drama, drew an average of 900,000 viewers on its Oct. 7 premiere date.

As for some of cbc’s returning series’ premieres, Playback has also learned that Emily of New Moon (Cinar Films/Salter) drew an average audience of 827,000 on Oct. 4 while This Hour Has 22 Minutes (Salter) drew an average audience of 1,319,000 viewers on Oct. 5, and 624,000 for its repeat episode on Oct. 7.

‘We feel it’s too premature right now to talk about numbers,’ says cbc spokesperson Ruth Ellen Soles, who refused to confirm Playback’s ratings numbers. ‘We need three weeks in order to get a handle on the performance of these programs. But I can say that we’re feeling very happy about them.’

ctv was more forthcoming with Nielsen overnight ratings. The average audience for the Due South episodes that aired Sept. 23 and Sept. 30 is 892,000 (2+), with 348,000 viewers in the 18-49 demo and 410,000 aged 25-54.

In Toronto, Cold Squad’s season premiere and second episode together averaged 4 ratings points with viewers 2+. Both the 18-49 and the 25-54 demographic increased a full rating point from Cold Squad’s first to second show, advancing from a 2 to a 3.