Ivan Fecan is a Canadian media executive producer and philanthropist. Fecan was the president and chief executive officer of

Baton Broadcasting Bell Media Inc. ( French: ) is a Canadian company formed by the amalgamation of several companies. Establishment (2011–13) On December 9, 2011, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan announced the sale of its majority stake in Maple Leaf Sports ...

and its successor

CTVglobemedia Bell Media Inc. ( French: ) is a Canadian company formed by the amalgamation of several companies. Establishment (2011–13) On December 9, 2011, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan announced the sale of its majority stake in Maple Leaf Sports ...

from 1996 to 2011, and chief executive officer of the

CTV Television Network The CTV Television Network, commonly known as CTV, is a Canadian English-language terrestrial television network. Launched in 1961 and acquired by BCE Inc. in 2000, CTV is Canada's largest privately owned television network and is now a divis ...

from late 1998 to 2011.

Early life and education

Fecan was born in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

in 1954. He attended

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...

, receiving a BA in Fine Arts.

Career

In 1984, at the age of 31, Ivan was offered a job with

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

. He served as their vice-president of creative development for two years, before returning to Canada to become director of television programming for

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...

in 1987. Some of the shows that Fecan ushered in during his tenure at CBC include ''

Degrassi High ''Degrassi High'' is a Canadian teen drama television series and the third series in the ''Degrassi'' franchise created by Linda Schuyler and Kit Hood. A direct continuation of '' Degrassi Junior High'', it debuted on CBC in Canada on November ...

'', ''

Road to Avonlea ''Road to Avonlea'' is a Canadian television series first broadcast in Canada between January 7, 1990, and March 31, 1996, as part of the ''CBC Family Hour'' anthology series, and in the United States starting on March 5, 1990. It was created b ...

'', ''

The Kids in the Hall The Kids in the Hall is a Canadian sketch comedy troupe formed in 1984, consisting of comedians Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Kevin McDonald, Mark McKinney and Scott Thompson. Their eponymous television show ran from 1989 to 1995, on CBC, ...

'', ''

Royal Canadian Air Farce The Royal Canadian Air Farce was a comedy troupe that was active from 1973 to 2019. It is best known for their various Canadian Broadcasting Corporation series, first on CBC Radio and later on CBC Television. Although their weekly radio series ...

'' and ''

This Hour Has 22 Minutes ''This Hour Has 22 Minutes'' (commonly shortened to ''22 Minutes'' since 2009) is a weekly Canadian television comedy that airs on CBC Television. Launched in 1993 during Canada's 35th general election, the show focuses on Canadian politics w ...

''. Fecan left CBC and joined

in January 1994 as senior group vice-president, and became executive vice-president and chief operating officer in January 1995. Fecan became president and chief executive officer of Baton in 1996. Fecan built Baton into a cross-Canada broadcasting powerhouse by purchasing or launching CTV affiliates in nearly every major market in the country (thus enabling itself to be renamed CTV Inc.) The new CTV organization in 1999 purchased Netstar Communications, owners of TSN. This made CTV an important player in Canada's cable television industry. In 2000, CTV was purchased by

Bell Canada Enterprises BCE Inc., formerly Bell Canada Enterprises Inc., is a publicly traded Canadian holding company for Bell Canada, which includes telecommunications providers and various mass media assets under its subsidiary Bell Media Inc. Founded through a cor ...

, which promptly merged CTV with ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'' to form Bell Globemedia, later renamed CTVglobemedia, of which Fecan became president and chief executive officer. Although Bell Canada Enterprises sold its controlling interest in the company in 2006, it then bought out the company's broadcasting assets entirely in 2011, at which point Fecan exited. He is now an investor and executive chair of

Thunderbird Films Thunderbird Entertainment Group (formerly Thunderbird Films) is a Canadian film and television entertainment company with offices in both Canada and the United States of America. Thunderbird's multiple divisions develop movies and television pr ...

. He is also the producer and executive producer of the hit Canadian sitcom ''

Kim's Convenience ''Kim's Convenience'' is a Canadian television sitcom that aired on CBC Television from October 2016 to April 2021. It depicts the Korean Canadian Kim family that runs a convenience store in the Moss Park neighbourhood of Toronto: parents "Appa ...

''. On September 5, 2017, Fecan was appointed Interim chief executive officer of Thunderbird, in addition to his other roles there. Fecan sits on charitable boards at the

Art Gallery of Ontario The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO; french: Musée des beaux-arts de l'Ontario) is an art museum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The museum is located in the Grange Park neighbourhood of downtown Toronto, on Dundas Street West between McCaul and Beve ...

, Toronto General and Western Hospital Foundation,

Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd. (MLSE) is a professional sports and commercial real estate company based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. With assets that include franchises in four of the six major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

and the

Royal Conservatory of Music The Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM), branded as The Royal Conservatory, is a non-profit music education institution and performance venue headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1886 by Edward Fisher (musician), Edward ...

Advisory Council. With his wife

Sandra Faire Sandra Faire ( Allard; died February 27, 2019) was a Canadian television producer and philanthropist. She created music specials for Canadian entertainers such as Anne Murray, and was executive producer of ''So You Think You Can Dance Canada''. ...

, he has made major philanthropic gifts to the

Four Seasons Centre The Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts is a 2,071-seat theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located at the southeast corner of University Avenue and Queen Street West, across from Osgoode Hall. The land on which it is located was a gift f ...

National Ballet of Canada The National Ballet of Canada is a Canadian ballet company that was founded in 1951 in Toronto, Ontario, with Celia Franca as the first artistic director. A company of 70 dancers with its own orchestra, the National Ballet has been led since 2022 ...

Canada's National Ballet School Canada's National Ballet School, also commonly known as the National Ballet School of Canada, is a classical ballet school located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Along with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School, it is a provider of professional ballet t ...

Soulpepper Theatre Company Soulpepper is a theater company based in Toronto, Ontario. It is the largest non-profit theater in the city. History Soulpepper was founded in 1998 by twelve Toronto artists aiming to produce lesser-known theatrical classics. Soulpepper has sinc ...

, UHN-

Toronto General Hospital The Toronto General Hospital (TGH) is a major teaching hospital in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and the flagship campus of University Health Network (UHN). It is located in the Discovery District of Downtown Toronto along University Avenue's Hospital ...

, and

. Faire died on February 27, 2019, at her home in Toronto. Fecan has remarried to Jae Kim.

Achievements

Fecan is the recipient of the American Marketing Association Hall of Legends. Fecan was named person of the year by entertainment industry magazine '' Playback'' in 2006, person of the decade in 2011, and inducted into the Playback Hall of Fame in May 2016.Playback’s 2016 Canadian Film & TV Hall of Fame: Ivan Fecan

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Fecan, Ivan 1954 births Living people York University alumni Canadian television executives Canadian television producers Businesspeople from Toronto Jewish Canadian philanthropists CTV Television Network people CBC Television people