Merging Media: Top funders debate Americans over whether production subsidies work

By etan vlessing

VANCOUVER - Most conference panels don't end up on highlight reels, and this year’s Merging Media financing roundtable might have been no different, until U.S. digital guru Robert Tercek took Bell Fund executive director Andra Sheffer and Canada Media Fund CEO Valerie Creighton to task over whether Canadian-content subsidies for digital content work.Tercek argued Internet players like Starz Digital Media and Hulu offer no upfront investment for digital content. They instead expect producers to prove themselves by amassing 500,000 to one million YouTube followers before doors open to receive a pitch."No one is out there saying, here's some money I...