USA Network has hired Robert West, VP of programming for the Sinclair TV station group, to become senior VP of programming and scheduling.
West succeeds Neil Hoffman, a 14-year veteran of USA, whose resignation is significant because he was the last surviving programming exec from the Kay Koplovitz regime. Koplovitz resigned as chairman and CEO of USA Networks in April 1998, six months after Barry Diller took over the operation.
One of his priorities, West explained, will be to examine the programming in all of USA's dayparts to reach the "disenfranchised audience" that may be lured to their TV sets with unusual shows. Although USA is No. 1 in primetime, it managed only a fourth-place tie in the total-day Nielsens for 1999, averaging a 1.0 rating in cable homes, the same as it got in 1998.
Before joining Sinclair, West was group program director for River City Broadcasting in St. Louis.
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