Who knew when Inside.com’s bubble popped it would lead to a hot cable career for co-founder Michael Hirschorn? (Rafat and I worked for Hirschorn at Inside.) He joined VH1 in 2001, took charge of programming in 2006 and has been credited with giving the network a personality that distinguished it from MTV and made it one of the fastest-growing cable nets. Now he may be on the verge of leaving Viacom (NYSE: VIA), the NY Post reports — the paper says it would be “a devastating loss.” The leading possibility: the UK’s Ricochet, although he reportedly has been in talks with a number of networks. Viacom also could make a counteroffer.
This (over-the-top) phrase from the NYP explains Hirschorn’s value across VH1’s platforms — “the Midas touch when it comes to making programming choices that tap into the pop culture zeitgeist.” Those choices also translate well online and encourage mobile use.
Update: The official word is out and it looks like a compromise. Hirschorn leaves to start his own production company — Ish Entertainment — with Stella Stolper, leaving as SVP-celebrity talent development at VH1, but has a first-look deal with Brian Graden’s MTV Networks Music and Logo Group. Ish, which will based in NYC and LA, launches with three greenlit series.
VH1 changes: As a result, VH1 announced a series of changes at the same time. Jeff Olde has been promoted to EVP-original programming and production. More details in the release.
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