Source : Globe & Mail

Canadian distributors were furious to hear Richard Stursberg, executive vice-president of CBC's English services, declare on live radio that no local players were fiscally strong and competitive enough to sell his network's shows internationally.

In an interview on Thursday night on As It Happens, Mr. Stursberg defended his network's pre-Christmas decision to sell the international rights to 700 hours of CBC programs to Fireworks International, a subsidiary of U.K.-based ContentFilm.

The deal angered many in Canada's entertainment sector who argue the sale of a publicly funded asset should be an open tender to ensure the best price.

On the show, Mr. Stursberg said the CBC made the deal with Fireworks/ContentFilm (which has since been tentatively sold to Toronto-based Peace Arch Entertainment) because "we did not see any [Canadian] company specialized in selling TV programs that was even remotely as well-capitalized, with as big a catalogue, or as extensive set of international relationships, to be able to sell these programs."

Peter Emerson, president of Toronto-based distributor Oasis International, called Mr. Stursberg's comments "appalling."

"He has only one thing to lean on, and it's hollow," said Mr. Emerson, whose company has been operating for 15 years. "Fireworks is not a big company. They have a large backing from ContentFilm, but Oasis has every bit of a presence as Fireworks, with the same number of sales people and the same size library.

"He made it sound like Fireworks dwarfs any Canadian company and it wasn't worth his trouble - or anyone's trouble at the CBC - to talk to Canadians."

Mr. Stursberg also explained that the deal did not have to go to an open auction because it fell below the CBC's tendering limits. "The value of it is too small."

Filmmaker Robert Lantos, who publicly criticized the deal earlier this week along with actor Paul Gross and producer Laszlo Barna, weighed in again yesterday, saying "maybe the deal wouldn't have been so small had there been competition."

CBC's board will vote on the transaction in a couple of weeks.

The CBC has given no details of the deal, but the 700 titles are conservatively estimated to have cost Canadian taxpayers at least $200-million.

© Globe and Mail