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Media - International
CBC receives Board approval for international sales deal
TORONTO - CBC/Radio-Canada has received Board approval to proceed with the sale of international distribution rights and assets currently managed by CBC's international sales division to Fireworks International, President and CEO Hubert T. Lacroix announced.
The deal, first announced December 18, 2007, includes international
rights to CBC's program catalogue of approximately 135 active titles,
comprising 700 hours of quality television programming, plus all of the
liabilities and receivables associated with the catalogue. The agreement does
not affect any of the CBC's current broadcasting rights or its archives.
"We believe this represents a significant win for CBC, for Canadian
taxpayers and for the producers, actors and others who have a stake in the
programming, which will now have an opportunity for greater exposure and sales
internationally," says Mr. Lacroix. "Under the terms of the agreement,
benefits will continue to accrue to rights holders of the programs, including
the CBC. We made a strategic decision to act quickly to pursue what we see as
a unique opportunity to bring Canadian programs to a wide international
audience, based on current market circumstances."
"We weighed carefully the use of an accelerated process against a number
of things, including financial consideration that fully values the assets, the
fact that it would minimize business disruption, be the best solution for
affected employees and give us a strong partner moving forward in ContentFilm
and concluded that it was our best solution," says CBC Executive
Vice-President English Services Richard Stursberg.
"CBC has made the decision to exit the business of international sales,"
Stursberg continued. "We know that we lack the scale, resources, investment
capital and risk tolerance required to be competitive in a market dominated by
large, specialized companies. Fireworks, and its parent, ContentFilm, are
among the best-known and most respected organizations in the industry, with
extensive international reach and sales capability. We're very pleased the
Board has endorsed this deal."
The agreement is expected to be completed in coming weeks. Financial
terms have not been disclosed.
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