Albie Hecht, executive VP and general manager at HLN, is departing the Time Warner-owned network after two-plus years at the helm. The programming veteran issued a memo to staff this morning that read, in part, “I am extremely proud of the transformation we have accomplished and I want to thank all of the talented people I’ve had the privilege of working with at HLN and especially thank Jeff [Zucker, CNN Worldwide president] and John Martin [chairman/CEO of Turner Broadcasting System] for all of their support.”
Hecht came to HLN, the former CNN Headline News, after a run as CEO of digital entertainment studio Worldwide Biggies. He previously helped create Spike TV and was president of Nickelodeon Entertainment.
Reporting to Zucker, Hecht oversaw a rebrand last year as HLN made an effort to better reach what it called the "social media generation,” curating news and content from across all social platforms and acquiring viral videos syndicated show RightThisMinute.
Hecht’s departure was previously reported in Variety; an HLN rep confirmed it.
Ken Jautz, exec VP at CNN, will run the channel on an interim basis.
