The timing said it all. Late on a summer Friday afternoon came the abrupt press release announcing that CBC English TV president Richard Stursberg was through. Quit? Resigned? Fired? Hard to tell. The terse language of the press release confirmed that this was less than a cordial parting for the man who'd pushed CBC to a more commercial image. Compliments were restrained in the announcement that the drama queen of networks was about to undergo another in its periodic fits of public self-assessment.
CBC types this weekend all expressed the view that the conflict was between commercial sensibilities (Stursberg) and artistic tradition of CBC (the board of directors). While Stursberg's regime scored ratings hits with Battle of the Blades, Dragon's Den, Being Erica and other shows, the tradeoff was deemed unsatisfying by those who champion the traditional news/features role of CBC TV - big losers in Stursberg's "new" CBC. There was also the matter of the disastrous lockout a few years back.
We'll leave the big picture to others, but Stursberg's sports legacy is decidedly mixed: During his regime, CBC lost the rights to the Olympics, the CFL and curling. It was forced to overpay an onerous $100-million a year to retain Hockey Night In Canada. Some say it was carelessness; others insist Stursberg was being practical with limited resources. Strong ratings for the 2010 World Cup and HNIC balanced the ledger somewhat in his favour - although part of the ratings' bump came from the new portable people meters, a jump not likely to be repeated this season.
The question now is which direction will a new president lead sports? If less commercial is the mandate, will Hockey Night In Canada push Don Cherry into retirement? Will the Corp re-commit to acquiring the Olympics after CTV's bold gamble to take the 2010/2012 Games? Will the plans for a dedicated sports channel be accelerated? More amateur sport? Hard to say yet. Most feel that sports vice-president Scott Moore is safe, despite being a Stursberg lieutenant. His work on the advertising side has given him increased profile within the Corporation, and if internal candidates are to be considered, he will receive consideration.
Clearly, all options are open with Stursberg and his loyal assistant gone or diminished in influence. The only certainty is that no one will be well served by the CBC until it solves yet another civil war for the soul of Canadian broadcasting.
RAY OF HOPE
As a former NHL player, Ray Ferraro knows that ice time is everything in the game. So Ferraro has decided to increase his time in the spotlight.
In addition to his TSN gig, Ferraro will now be joining the TEAM 1040's morning drive show with Scott Rintoul starting August 23. It's part of a major re-working of the TEAM's roster being announced Monday in the wake of Tom Larscheid's retirement last week.
"I love my TSN job, and I love hockey," Ferraro told Usual Suspects. "But I've always wanted the chance to discuss other sports, too. That's the attraction in this job that makes it worth getting up at 4:30 in the morning."
Ferraro will continue with his Wednesday night TSN assignments next winter, broadcasting from whatever city he's in for a game. "It's a lot of work, but I really love doing radio, and this is a great opportunity with the Canucks' host broadcaster."
With his radio partner Dave Tomlinson now analyst of Canucks radio, Blake Price becomes the pregame and intermission host for the team's games. Barry MacDonald moves to the 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. slot with Globe and Mail writer Matthew Sekeres co-hosting around his other duties.
The successful afternoon drive show with David Pratt and Don Taylor remains intact.
OLBERMANN OVERBOARD
Finally, liberal attack dog Keith Olbermann will not be back on NBC's Football Night In America.
We know. A crushing blow. But there's so much Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly to go around that NBC news has requested that the man with the power comb-over stay on the news side.
Wonder if he'll ever nominate himself for the worst person in the world?