Last week, as reported in MiC on Friday, Fox scheduling chief Preston Beckman told The Hollywood Reporter that the seventh season of 24 was being cancelled to avoid disruption later on because of the US writers’ strike. Now, however, the network is saying it’s merely postponing the upcoming season until after the strike is over – whenever that may be.

Says Barbara Williams, SVP programming & production at CanWest MediaWorks, which carries 24 in Canada: ‘We want to clarify comments made in Media in Canada‘s Friday, Nov. 9 edition regarding the status of 24. It is important to note that the series has not been cancelled – the new season has simply been postponed due to the writers’ strike.’

In answer to the contention by media buyers that 24‘s ratings have declined substantially since its glory days, Global provided the following information: ‘Last season, among adults 18-49, 24 was top 20 nationally, top 15 in Toronto and top 10 in Vancouver. The series was up year over year 17% among adults 18-49 nationally and was the clear time-period winner in all markets.’