Doug Sellars, former executive producer of CBC Sports, dies

Doug Sellars, the former executive producer of CBC Sports, died on Friday just over four months after taking over as an executive vice-president of Fox Sports in Los Angeles.

He was 50.

The Ryerson University grad and multiple Gemini Award winner began his career at CBC in 1985, right out of school, working for Hockey Night in Canada.

By 1989, he was promoted to head of sports production, responsible for all CBC Sports properties, and was instrumental in several Olympic Games and Commonwealth Games presentations.

“Doug was a great mentor to a lot of people, and a great boss to have,” said Joel Darling, now the director of sports partnerships for CBC Sports, and someone who worked with Sellars for a decade.

“Most [who worked with him] would consider him a really good friend, and in a lot of businesses that’s hard to find. He was so well liked and respected.”

John Shannon, the former executive producer of Hockey Night, said in a tweet Sellars was a “consummate pro. Since moving to Fox, Doug was a great advocate for the NHL. Doug didn’t just make stars, HE was a star!”

After Sellars went to Fox Sports at the start of the new century, he was in charge of that network’s large regional sports production arm, before moving to studio and event production with the Sports Media Group this year.