CBC Digital Archives

Sink or swim for Alberta businessman

When Venture first launched in 1985, one stated goal was to be a TV version of the Wall Street Journal's front page: lively, lucid and wide-ranging. It's about business, but it's not just for businessmen and businesswomen. Venture covered all the aspects of the economy in Canada and beyond: prices, profits, personnel, innovation and ideas as they affect any business. From farms to fishing boats, boardrooms to barbershops, Venture was about the business of making a living.

Venture brings you a firsthand look at a critical five days for a business poised at the edge of failure. Peter Jess's company SeaScan is trying to attract buyers for its high-tech underwater camera. But the bills are piling up and creditors are calling. The tension is palpable as SeaScan works to keep itself afloat.
• This show aired in 1985, a banner year for underwater exploration. Four months after this broadcast, oceanographers discovered the wreck of the Titanic. In 1986, they returned with Jason Jr., a larger version of SeaScan's camera, which thoroughly explored the famous wreck.

• SeaScan was rescued less than a week after this broadcast. The company reluctantly gave 50 per cent control to a group of investors in exchange for the capital to keep the company alive.

Medium: Television
Program: Venture
Broadcast Date: May 20, 1985
Guest(s): Peter Jess
Host: Patrick Watson
Duration: 9:24

Last updated: January 26, 2012

Page consulted on March 27, 2013

All Clips from this Topic