Court's new reality man
-- Broadcasting & Cable, 1/15/2001
Ed Hersh, former A & E vice president of documentaries, is joining Court TV as its new vice president of documentaries and specials. Hersh said he jumped to the smaller network to ride its growth wave. Court's prime time ratings have grown 500% in the last two years.
Hersh will oversee production of Mugshots, Forensic Files and Hollywood & Crime, among others.
Documentaries will be Court's forte going forward, after a two-year transition from mostly courtroom coverage to entertainment programming. Shows like Cops and Homicide saved the network from the ratings pits in the post-O.J. era. Now, Court's strength is coming from shows like Crime Stories, an ongoing series that documents high-profile investigations that tripled in ratings over the course of a year. "My priority is to build on the success that Court TV has had in the last year with such signature events as Brooklyn North Homicide and to look for new opportunities to make the documentary franchises even more distinctive and compelling in the months ahead," Hersh said.
