Henry Schleiff

Henry S. Schleiff spearheads the development, production, scheduling, research, marketing, communications and online efforts for Investigation Discovery (ID) and Military Channel.  As president and general manager, Schleiff has direct responsibility for driving the revenue, ratings and brands of the networks, which are each available in approximately 50 million U.S. homes.  He also has oversight of Planet Green and FitTV.

Previously, Schleiff was President and Chief Executive Officer of Crown Media Holdings, Inc., owner and operator of Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movie Channel, which he joined in October, 2006. Under his leadership, Hallmark Channel became one of the best performing cable channels in the industry, enjoying significant growth and success across the board in distribution, ratings and revenue, leading to record profits. The 24-hour network grew in just two years by 16 million subscribers to reach a national audience of over 86 million subscribers and consistently ranking in the top 10 in Prime Time, Total Day and key demographics of women and adults 25-54.

Prior to Crown, Schleiff was the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Court TV Network, having joined the crime and justice network in October, 1998 which he helped re-launch by introducing several successful non-fiction series, documentaries, specials and original movies as well as adding popular off-network dramatic series and movies to the evening schedule. In addition, Schleiff built upon the network's exclusive daytime live trial coverage and expert analysis by signing a variety of established anchors and commentators. Under Schleiff's stewardship, Court TV became one of the most successful basic cable networks in the industry, growing from 30 million subscribers to over 85 million subscribers and as a leader among all cable networks in Prime Time ratings with ad sales revenues increasing at a compound rate of 57% per year, during his tenure.

Schleiff joined Court TV as a television veteran with an extensive background in management and production. From 1996-1998, Schleiff was the Executive Vice President for Studios USA, where he was responsible for evaluating all East Coast broadcasting and cable opportunities for the TV group, developing new talent relationships with independent and niche producers and overseeing the production of various issue-related talk shows.

From 1992-1996, Schleiff was Executive Producer for Viacom International Inc., where his production credits included a variety of original television movies, dramatic series and specials for such networks as HBO, Showtime, USA, Lifetime and AMC.

From 1987-1992, Schleiff was Senior Vice President of Viacom International Inc. and Chairman and CEO of Viacom's Broadcast and Entertainment Groups, where he was responsible for overseeing the production of all prime time network and first-run programming, all domestic and foreign syndication, the company's five TV and fourteen radio stations, as well as its licensing, merchandising and new media operations.

From 1981-1987, Schleiff was Senior Vice President, Business Affairs and Administration for HBO and head of HBO Enterprises. He began his career as a law clerk for United States District Court Judge, M. Gurfein, S.D.N.Y., and became a corporate associate with the Wall Street law firm of Davis Polk & Wardwell.

Schleiff is Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors for the International Radio & Television Society Foundation, Inc. (IRTS), and serves as a member of the Board of Directors of The International Council; The Creative Coalition; The U.S. Fund for UNICEF; Help USA; Theatreworks USA; Guild Hall of East Hampton; The Hamptons International Film Festival; The American Museum of the Moving Image; The Cable Center; the Board of Governors of the Museum of Television and Radio Media Center; the Dean's Council of the Tisch School of the Arts, New York University; the Executive Leadership Cabinet of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Foundation; and, the We Are Family Foundation. Additionally, Mr. Schleiff is a member of the Board of Directors of CKX, Inc., the owner of various entertainment related assets including 19 Entertainment Ltd., which produces American Idol and other hit shows.

Schleiff received a Bachelor of Arts degree (cum laude) from the University of Pennsylvania and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Law, where he was an Editor of the Law Review. A native of New York, Schleiff resides in Manhattan with his wife, Peggy, and sons, Harry and Sidney.