TWX Time Warner Inc. New

By Joe Flint 

Time Warner Inc.'s Turner Broadcasting is again shaking up the executive ranks and programming strategy for its struggling HLN cable news network.

Albie Hecht, executive vice president and general manager of HLN, is leaving the network, according to a memo Tuesday from CNN President Jeff Zucker, who has oversight of HLN.

Launched in 1982 as a sister news service to CNN and previously known as Headline News, the channel has struggled for several years to distinguish itself. It often devotes time to high-profile crime trials and is the home of talk show hosts Nancy Grace and Dr. Drew Pinsky.

Two years ago, Mr. Hecht, a former top executive at Nickelodeon, was brought in as general manager of HLN by Mr. Zucker. At the time, Mr. Zucker and Mr. Hecht said HLN would be rebranded for the digital age. The network dubbed itself the TV home for the social media generation and began to take its programming cues from social media and what was trending on Twitter.

That strategy didn't pay off in the ratings. So far this year, HLN is averaging just 319,000 viewers in prime time and 283,000 in daytime, according to Nielsen.

In Tuesday's memo to staff, Mr. Zucker credit Mr. Hecht with doing a "terrific job" running HLN. Ken Jautz, a former senior HLN executive who is now an executive vice president of CNN, will oversee the network on an interim basis until a full-time successor is named.

Going forward, Mr. Zucker indicated in his memo that HLN will begin to carry more programming that first appears on CNN as opposed to creating its own original content.

"As we look towards 2016, I now believe that by driving HLN's programming during the daytime and overnight hours closer to CNN's, and by utilizing a much stronger library of content that has been built in the last three years, we can take that success to even greater heights," Mr. Zucker said.

Write to Joe Flint at joe.flint@wsj.com

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 24, 2015 15:37 ET (20:37 GMT)

Time Warner (NYSE:TWX)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024

Time Warner (NYSE:TWX)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024