Name: Henry Schleiff
Title: President/CEO, Crown Media Holdings
Age: 59

 

Why him? P.T. Barnum has nothing on Henry Schleiff. Right now, the master salesman is pitching his Hallmark Channel as cable’s miracle elixir—a family friendly net that even FCC chairman Kevin Martin could swallow. It’s a calculated move, aimed at getting FCC-plagued operators to shell out higher affiliate fees for Hallmark. And with programming EVP David Kenin minding the family-friendly store, Schleiff has plenty of confidence. At the same time, Schleiff’s on his stump telling everyone in earshot that the network’s not for sale, but, gosh-darn, it’s such an amazing deal with its stellar ratings that he wouldn’t be shocked if someone snatched it up and used it in a tying arrangement to bolster demands for cash. In other words—get in while the getting is good, folks. And maybe he has a point—look at Oxygen. With contract renewals up for the bulk of Hallmark’s sub base this year, Schleiff and his savvy svp, network distribution Janice Arouh have gotten a few big names to step right up. EchoStar, Mediacom and NCTC. And he also just hooked the biggest fish, which might explain Schleiff’s unnatural obsession with Brian Roberts.

 

 AM
 

Defining career moment: “Meeting Brian Roberts.”
Person I most admire in the cable industry and why: “Brian Roberts; his humor, his warmth, his 24 million subs.”
Biggest cable surprise of 2007: “How tall Brian Roberts is.”
Favorite Movie: “Brian’s Song”
My perfect vacation goes like this: “Brian, me…”
My most embarrassing cable moment was: “At the Kaitz dinner, in the bathroom stall next to me, Brian Roberts…”


Click here to go to the next entry
Click here to go the the previous entry
Click here to return to the 2007 CableFAX 100 list

The Daily

Subscribe
Friday–May 2

Synamedia Gets First Senza Win

Last fall, Synamedia unveiled its cloud-based streaming solution Senza. Now, it has signed beIN Media Group as the first customer to go live with the video

Read the Full Issue
The Skinny is delivered on Tuesday and focuses on the cable profession. You'll stay in the know on the headlines, topics and special issues you value most. Sign Up

Calendar

Sep 11
2025 Faxies Awards Faxies Nominations Open! Final deadline: 4/4/25
Full Calendar

Jobs

Seeking an INDUSTRY JOB or hiring for one?
VIEW JOBS

In conjunction with our sister brand, Cynopsis, we are offering hiring managers a deep pool of media-savvy, skilled candidates at a range of experience levels and sectors. The result will be an even more robust industry job board, to help both employers and job seekers.

Contact Carley Ashley, [email protected], for more information about posting a job on the website and our Jobs newsletter, sent twice weekly to 85,000 media professionals.