A thousand people are heading to Ottawa this month to make themselves heard.

For many it was sad but not surprising. Global Television was, after all, entering a second season of losing and losing badly to CTV, trailing in both ad sales and in ratings. The net usually has only five or six of the top-20 shows in any given week. Global bought all of the wrong U.S. series for its ’03/04 season – Coupling, The Lyon’s Den, Skin, et al – and lost two of its biggest titles, Friends and Frasier, when their runs ended in May. The summer season produced no solid hits – does anyone even remember The Men’s Room or The Jury? – and despite the moderate success of the spin-off Joey, warhorses such as The Simpsons and Survivor, and the returning The Apprentice and Without a Trace, the net’s ’04/05 schedule is off to another slow start, leaning more heavily than ever on its aging lineup of sitcoms, short-run giggle reality, and its low-budget, homemade Train 48. Someone would have to take the blame.

When the Canadian Association of Broadcasters hands out its annual Gold Ribbon Awards on Nov. 30, the top honor will go to Corus Entertainment president and CEO John Cassaday, who takes this year’s Gold Ribbon Award for Broadcast Excellence.

If the buzz out of MIPCOM is any indication, the long-hyped potential of wireless for the broadcasting community is fast becoming reality. And broadcaster CHUM, in collaboration with QuickPlay Media and Rogers Wireless, is at the vanguard.

Unlike VisionTV, which is multi-faith, digital channel, Salt + Light Television provides a Catholic-specific take on entertainment, news and information. Its challenge, following a recent staff expansion and move to a larger facility in downtown Toronto, is to establish itself as more than a purveyor of fire and brimstone. Launched last December, the station’s demographic has skewed older, but it is going after younger eyeballs. In fact, 80% of its staff is aged 20 to 35.

It’s a good year for James Davis and his Toronto commercial production company Reginald Pike.

The Reginald Pike directing team of Ian Letts and Michael Gelfand, better known to those in the advertising biz as The Perlorian Bros., has won this year’s Saatchi & Saatchi First Cut Award for breakout Canadian commercial directors. Their irreverent work has put them on the ad map as a major new force, with spots for clients including Saturn, Bootlegger, Aspirin and Timex.

Last December, six weeks after having an initial conversation with untitled and Reginald Pike executive producer James Davis about a career shift, Vancouver-based commercial photographer (and this year’s First Cut runner-up) Mark Gilbert found himself in a Toronto morgue shooting his first television commercial. It was a PSA for WISH (the Women’s Information Safe House) – a refuge for prostitutes and street people in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside – via agency Rethink.

Johnny Chambers: Freelance producer, Toronto

Many believe the CBC has taken the best course of action in the current NHL lockout. In response to a recent online Playback poll asking ‘What would be the best substitute for CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada?’, 37% of respondents chose the route the Ceeb has taken with Movie Night in Canada. 23% voted in favor of a good book instead, followed by games from other leagues (17%), classic NHL games (14%), Canadian or hockey movies (8%) and ongoing strike coverage (1%).

Studio owners, unions and other stakeholders are in huddles across Canada this month looking for ways to offset damage caused by the U.S./Canada exchange rate.
The loonie has been trading at a 10-year peak of more than $0.80 against the greenback since October, fueling fears that the high rate and lack of savings will scare off penny-conscious U.S. producers. The 80-cent mark is often thought to be the tipping point at which Hollywood begins to shun Canada.

When asked last year how he felt about his show’s chances in the Gemini’s best comedy series or program category, Trailer Park Boys actor Mike (Bubbles) Smith was not optimistic.