Scott Moore left the CBC because he received an undisclosed offer from “elsewhere within the broadcast industry” that was “just too good to pass up.”
Speaking with Marketing Tuesday afternoon just hours after his sudden departure was announced, the now-former executive director of CBC Sports and general manger of the newly rechristened revenue group wouldn’t elaborate further on where he’s going, though one industry source told Marketing he would be joining Rogers Media. Rogers declined to comment.
Moore said an announcement is expected either today or tomorrow, but he will take some time off before joining the unnamed company in mid-December.
“It comes down to what the next challenge is for me and what I think is also right for me and my family,” he said. “It had to be an absolutely perfect opportunity for me to leave CBC.”
Moore’s sales role will be filled by former Canwest sales head Jack Tomik, who joined the CBC early in 2009 in what he described to Marketing at the time as a “short-term” consulting role.
Asked to assess his legacy at CBC, Moore said that he’s most proud of the public broadcaster’s ongoing commitment to amateur sports through coverage of events like the Commonwealth Games, the “continuing improvements” to its flagship program Hockey Night in Canada, and an internal initiative he spearheaded called the CBC Sports Hall of Fame–which honours CBC Sports luminaries such as the late Don Wittman and Ted Reynolds.
On the sales and marketing side, Moore said he is particularly proud of the turnaround in perception of the CBC. “We went from being not particularly well-loved to [Marketing‘s] media player of the year within nine months,” he said. “I think we’re now a first call for a lot of clients that want to be integrated smartly in Canadian content, we have changed our relationship with the buying agencies, and I’m thrilled that I’m part of that turnaround.”
ZenithOptimedia president and CEO Sunni Boot said that Moore adeptly absorbed the sales role despite spending much of his professional career in sports. “His passion and knowledge of sports was beautifully transferred into client service and developing bigger sponsorship packages with clients,” she said. “He was very client-centric and found solutions for clients as they came along.”
She described Tomik as a “class act” and “the best of the best,” someone who “really knows clients and understands the workings of what clients need” and their desire for programming participation.
CBC veteran David Masse, who helped plan the broadcaster’s coverage of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing as well as the 2010 FIFA World Cup, will oversee Moore’s CBC Sports responsibilities.
