Chris Albrecht To Depart As Starz CEO

Starz is losing a big star in the executive suite: Chris Albrecht is stepping down as the pay cable network’s CEO, according to our sister site Deadline.

Albrecht will officially hand over the reins next month, after nearly a decade at the company. Since Albrecht became CEO in January 2010, Starz has seen its subscriber base increase by nearly 50 percent, from 17 million to 25.1 million. He’s overseen the development of such hits as Outlander, Power and American Gods.

Before coming to Starz, Albrecht spent more than two decades at HBO, where he helped develop seminal series like The Sopranos, Sex and the City, Entourage, Six Feet Under and The Wire as chairman and CEO. Prior to that, he was a talent agent at powerhouse agency ICM.

No replacement for Albrecht has been named yet. For now, Starz will continue under the leadership of COO Jeffrey Hirsch and president of programming Carmi Zlotnik.

“Chris’ renowned programming expertise and entrepreneurial abilities have helped build Starz into a premium global brand distinguished by its great shows, fast-growing direct to consumer initiatives, and expanding international footprint,” parent company Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer said in a statement. “As we complete the first phase of our evolution into a unified company and accelerate our focus on Starz’ international expansion, Chris has decided to step down to pursue other opportunities. I look forward to working closely with him and Jeff Hirsch to ensure a smooth transition and plan the next steps of the Company’s continued growth.”―TV Line