The Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television has set Jan. 15, 2013 as the date it will unveil all film, TV and digital nominations for the inaugural Canadian Screen Awards (CSAs).

In September, the Academy announced some details of the CSAs, including the new name and that the prizes will be handed out during a two-hour multi-platform live show broadcast on the CBC Mar. 3.

In May, it reported that the separately run and award Genies and Geminis would be combined into one blockbuster event starting next year.

“We luckily found a great window in January,” Academy CEO Helga Stephenson tells Playback. “Jan. 15 is the perfect spot for the Academy to announce nominees. It’s between the BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) announcement, the Oscar nominees and Golden Globes, so we become part of a worldwide celebration of excellence,” she adds.

The deadline for film entries is Oct. 9.

Meanwhile, all TV and digital media entries have been submitted. According to Stephenson, “the number of entries was up this time. We suspect that is partly due to the enthusiasm for the new CSAs. It may also partly be attributed to when the Academy merged the show, the new Mar. 3 broadcast date effectively extended the call time for those categories (this one time only).”

The nominations will be announced at simultaneous French and English press conferences in Montreal and Toronto, and also webcast nationwide. Only French films are part of the awards, as French TV and digital programs will continue to be honoured by Les Prix Gemaux.

Eligible voters will then have until Feb. 15 to cast their ballots.

The Academy also announced it has made changes to the voting system.

“Our Academy members asked for changes in the voting system so we listened,” she explains. “The weighting of the jury vote to member vote for all television entries is now 50/50. It was 70/30.

“All eligible television and digital media members will vote in all television and digital media categories,” Stephenson continues. “All eligible film members will vote in all film categories. And now the juries will be assembled by the Academy, and no longer by the jury chair. We made these significant changes to the Academy voting structure because that’s what our members wanted.”