ctv’s director of sales and marketing, Kathie Shearer, is the latest casualty of the restructuring brought about by the network’s new majority owner, Baton Broadcasting.

Shearer’s sudden departure Dec. 2 is a sign that ctv’s sales and marketing department is not off limits with respect to layoffs. But, so far, no one knows what will happen to the remaining 20 or so employees.

‘No one has been removed yet,’ says Tom Curzon, Baton’s director of communications.

Curzon says that there’s definitely duplication within ctv’s and Baton’s sales and marketing departments and that eliminating said duplication will free up money for original Canadian programming – one of the conditions of approval when the ownership bid was before the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission.

As for how to solve the problem, that’s still up in the air.

Currently, there are about 20 employees in the ctv sales and marketing department, according to Curzon, while Baton has over 100. ctv’s sales and marketing team has been responsible for selling 40 hours of the 126-hour week, while Baton’s team has covered the remaining time, along with specialty services, he says.

Says Curzon, ‘It’s all going to be one sales and marketing force dealing with the network and the specialty channels.’

Curzon could not say how large the sales and marketing force will be when all is said and done.