CBC and TVO are alive and well, at least to the Canadian public, if not necessarily the politicians. Such are the findings of a pair of new polls commissioned by media watchdog Friends of Canadian Broadcasting, as the federal government hatches an election call and Ontario releases a new budget.

It was all about high-definition production, post and broadcast at the recent National Association of Broadcasters trade show in Las Vegas, with cost and efficiency top of mind.

Indigenous Canadian film and television production was down nearly 7% in 2003, the third year in a row overall production volumes have declined. According to Playback’s 16th Annual Report on Independent Production, Canadian prodcos spent $1.51 billion on production and development last year, down from $1.624 billion in 2002.

A monster year for French-Canadian cinema, and for Denys Arcand’s Les Invasions barbares in particular, culminated with a dominant showing at the 24th Annual Genie Awards in Toronto on May 1.

The most verbose and colorful acceptance speech at the 2004 Genie Awards was given prior to the broadcast by Peter Simpson, chairman and CEO of Norstar Filmed Entertainment, whose production credits include Blown Away, Iron Eagle IV and Regeneration. Upon receiving a Special Genie for his ‘commitment to the production and distribution of films in Canada and his ongoing mentorship of young talents,’ Simpson opened with a promise to ‘leave the Telefilm bashing ’til the end of the speech.’

Canadian film and TV production and development spending was down nearly 7% in 2003 compared to 2002, in the latest phase of a three-year slide. While dramatic shifts in the domestic production industry have driven the overall decline, some prodcos are seeing new opportunities emerge.

Las Vegas: For those who thought all the talk about high-definition TV was still just a lot of hype, the attention it has received at NAB2004 strongly indicates otherwise.

Las Vegas: Alias, the Toronto-based makers of Maya software for 3D animation and FX, was at NAB2004 within one week of announcing that Accel-KKR, a tech-focused private equity firm, was finalizing a US$57.5 million deal that would back Alias’ separation from parent Silicon Graphics.

Equinoxe Films continues to roll.

Several distributors and producers at the CFTPA conference in January openly vented their frustrations over their films allegedly being denied a fair shot at theatrical success. Exhibitors, they said, shun Canuck movies to appease powerful and pushy U.S. distributors. One thing is certain – it’s a tough fight for access to Canada’s 3,500 screens.

Toronto prodco Capri Films has launched a new distribution division and appointed Tony Cianciotta as its president.

Another major Canadian post shop is set to be swallowed by a global giant, as Technicolor Creative Services Canada, a subsidiary of France-based Thomson, has entered a pre-acquisition agreement with the publicly traded Command Post and Transfer Corporation.