Lobby group The Friends of Canadian Broadcasting is launching a national advertising blitz with a series of witty spots appealing to the public to get behind English-language drama. The PSA campaign, valued at around $400,000, will begin airing Sept. 17.

The decision by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to move the Genies from longtime broadcast partner CBC to CHUM is a compelling play.

With less than a month to its launch, Toronto 1 has put a final dollar value of just under $15 million on its two production funds, part of parent Craig Media’s commitment last year to the CRTC during licensing hearings for the Southern Ontario market.

The Toronto International Film Festival marks the starting point of what will be a major acid test for Telefilm Canada’s mandate of boosting domestic features to 5% of the total Canadian box office by 2006.

The production community is thanking its lucky stars that John Manley won’t be the next prime minister of Canada. The odds are good, however, that Manley will be the next finance minister, so there is really very little to be thankful for. After all, it was as minister of finance that Manley lopped $50 million over two years from the Canadian Television Fund.

In June 2002, ACTRA launched what it called its ‘campaign for Canadian programming,’ a broad-based effort to take a leadership role in reviving Canadian drama.

The Canadian Cable Television Association caused a firestorm among broadcasters June 19 when it announced that it had filed an application with the CRTC to allow U.S. pay and specialty services including HBO, Nickelodeon Kids, ESPN and Fox Sports to be distributed on the digital tier.

One of the best things about the Banff TV festival is the lunches. Not because the food is good – although it occasionally is – but because guest speakers come and say some very interesting things. This as opposed to Banff breakfast sessions, where guest speakers may be saying interesting things, but I’m still in bed, if only in my mind. This year, the lunches were no different.

After eight years as the face and voice of producers, Elizabeth McDonald is moving back from the spotlight. The long-serving president and CEO of the CFTPA will step down in late August.

While it’s been popular sport to bash Trina McQueen’s report Dramatic Choices since its release at the end of May, kudos to her for highlighting the need for a more concerted effort in the area of ‘audience building.’

Paul Kenyon saw sales drop 45% in April compared to revenue in the same month last year. That’s bad news, not just for the president of Toronto-based Absolute Location Support Services, but also for the production community on the whole.
With 326 probable or suspected SARS cases in Canada and 23 deaths in Toronto, the tourism, restaurant and retail industries all fell dramatically in April. Much of this was fueled by a travel advisory imposed by the World Health Organization and a hyped-up frenzy created by U.S. media.
But few businesses suffered a drop-off like that of the commercial production industry.

Apple Box Productions has been shuttered after it was unable to prove itself a viable money generator for parent company CanWest Global.