ABC's Wong primed for Lifetime gig

Cohen departing cable network Cohen out at Lifetime

By MICHAEL SCHNEIDER

Wong

Cohen

Daniels

Struggling cabler Lifetime is parting ways with prexy-CEO Betty Cohen -- and is expected to name ABC's Andrea Wong to the post as soon as today.

Cohen is ankling the network after just two years on the job.

Buzz on who will likely fill the CEO gig has centered on Wong, currently ABC's alternative/specials/latenight exec VP.

Wong has been a candidate for several positions in recent months, including the TLC presidency recently filled by Angela Shapiro-Mathes.

The Alphabet exec has helped develop some of the net's biggest hits, such as "Dancing With the Stars" and "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition." But she has never run an entire company, making the leap to CEO an unusual one.

But Lifetime is used to unconventional CEO hires: Cohen's predecessor, Carole Black, jumped to the Lifetime CEO job from running NBC-owned Los Angeles TV station KNBC.

Wong is expected to be named to the job as soon as Thursday. But it wasn't yet a done deal late Wednesday; another name on the short list was Diane Robina, president of Comcast/Sony Networks. Insiders shot down speculation that CW Entertainment prexy Dawn Ostroff, a former Lifetime entertainment honcho, was in the running.

Surprisingly, Lifetime Entertainment topper Susanne Daniels isn't on that list. In light of the shakeup, it's unlikely that Daniels will choose to remain at the network.

Cohen's departure had been rumored for weeks, but her quick exit barely 24 hours after the net's upfront still caught some execs at the channel by surprise.

Insiders believe Lifetime's Disney and Hearst parents had grown unhappy with Cohen, and both sides decided to move quickly to end the relationship rather than wait until the end of upfront season. The corporate parents, which each control a 50% stake in the channel, have been meeting with potential replacements in recent days.

The shuffle -- and likely departure of Daniels alongside Cohen -- comes at an inopportune time for the net, which is about to launch an ambitious programming slate.

Just a day before the Cohen announcement, the channel scored positive reaction to its upcoming lineup, including the Carson Kressley-hosted makeover show "How to Look Good Naked." Net is also looking to make a splash by running a full slate of new young, quirky dramas on Sunday nights this summer (Daily Variety, April 25).

Cohen issued a statement Wednesday morning saying that it was "time for me to take on new challenges."

"I felt that the time was right for this transition," she said. "There is an amazingly talented, hard-working team in place at Lifetime, and I wish them all continued success and great luck in the future. As for what the future holds for me, all I can say is 'Stay tuned.' "

Disney Media Networks co-chair Anne Sweeney and Hearst Corp. director John Conomikes jointly announced Cohen's departure.

"We respect Betty's decision to move on at this time," the execs said in a joint statement. "We are very grateful for her dedication and contributions to Lifetime over the past two years and wish her our best in all her future endeavors."

Cohen's departure comes as Lifetime looks to bounce back in the ratings following double-digit demo declines last year. Lifetime is actually up year to year in total viewers, averaging 1.55 million in the first quarter of 2007, up 5% vs. 2006's 1.5 million.

Channel has also seen its adults 18-34 (220,000, up 5% from 209,000) and 18-49 (591,000, up 1% from 584,000) auds uptick slightly from a year ago.

But with most of its recent original series attempts falling flat -- and its library of movies continuing to age -- Lifetime is still battling to restore its relevancy among its core female aud, while looking to get younger at the same time.

The channel hasn't made much noise as of late, landing just two programs -- the Nora Roberts telepics "Angels Fall" and "Montana Sky" -- among the top 50 basic cable telecasts in the first quarter of this year.

Under her tenure, Cohen was unable to bring Lifetime back to the heights it enjoyed earlier in the decade, when it briefly ranked tops among all basic cablers with total viewers. (Still, in the first quarter of 2007, Lifetime landed a respectable fifth place among total viewers.)

Cohen also faced a tough license-fee fight with EchoStar, which replaced Lifetime and Lifetime Movie Network for a month in 2006 on its Dish satellite service.

More recently, the channel has been anxious to get back into the original scripted series business, announcing Tuesday that the channel had upped its production budget by 31%.

Cohen joined Lifetime in 2005, marking her second tour of duty at the women's net; she was a managing senior producer of on-air promotion at the cabler early in her career.

Prior to taking the Lifetime reins, Cohen headed up her own consulting firm. She spent 14 years at Turner, helping to create the hugely successful Cartoon Network franchise and also serving as senior VP-general manager at TNT. Before Turner, Cohen's resume included stints at Nickelodeon and the Cable Health Network.