“With great regret, at the request of Time Warner, I have agreed to step down as chairman and CEO of Home Box Office," Albrecht said in a statement released late Wednesday. "I take this step for the benefit of my Home Box Office colleagues, recognizing that I cannot allow my personal circumstances to distract them from the business.I’m very proud of what we have achieved together at Home Box Office, and I wish everybody there many more successes in the future.”

Time Warner Chairman and CEO Richard D. Parsons, who had pledged to closely monitor the situation after the initial arrest,  said: “[Time Warner President] Jeff Bewkes and I believe that this is the right decision for the Company.We thank Chris for all of his contributions to Home Box Office over the years.”

Speculation had already begun on a permanent successor. The early buzz centered on HBO Film President Colin Callender. Another name is NBC Entertainment President Kevin Reilly. Even though he recently re-upped with the network, some think he could find a way to get out of that contract, and any noncompete clause, because HBO may not be considered a direct competitor to a broadcast network.

It may also help, contractually, that the HBO job is not an entertainment chief, but a CEO post.