Henry S. Schleiff is President and Chief Executive Officer of Crown Media Holdings, Inc., owner and operator of Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movie Channel.He joined the company in October, 2006, and is based in its New York office.Schleiff was most recently the Chairman of Court TV Network, having been promoted to that position in December, 1999.After joining the crime and justice network in October, 1998 as President and CEO, Schleiff helped re-launch Court TV 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 continued to build 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, having grown from 30 million subscribers to its current status with over 85 million subscribers and as a leader among all cable networks in prime time ratings.

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.