Eckerle ankles Fox B'casting

Split is 'amicable,' sources say

By JENNY HONTZ

Fox Broadcasting Co.'s vice president of drama Jeff Eckerle is leaving the web when his contract expires to pursue opportunities at other networks, sources said Wednesday.

Eckerle, who oversaw "The X-Files" and "Millennium" at Fox, is said to be in talks for posts at NBC and at least one other network. While Fox tried to keep him, the split is "amicable," sources said. Eckerle declined comment.

Eckerle first joined Fox in 1991 as a director of current programming. Prior to Fox, he worked for Guber-Peters Entertain-ment Co., supervising longform projects, such as "Switched at Birth." He also was a manager of production planning at Paramount and a consultant at TriStar.

Eckerle is the second VP to leave Fox in recent weeks, along with comedy exec Lauren Corrao. Sources say Fox is likely to up current programming director Craig Erwich to Eckerle's post.