Nickelodeon animation head Albie Hecht has been appointed president of the cable channel The New TNN. In his new position, Hecht will oversee TNN as it repositions itself as television's first entertainment network for men, building upon its existing predominantly male audience composition. As part of this transition, Diane Robina will leave her current role as general manager of the network. The 86 million subscriber cable network, which was acquired by MTV Networks in 2000, will emphasize original programming from a broad spectrum of genres, including animation, video games, men's health, finance and reality programming. In the past few months, the channel has announced some of its upcoming original programming, including the first Video Game Awards, honoring the best video games as voted by players and fans across the country, and the return of REN & STIMPY, featuring new original episodes from John Kricfalusi. REN & STIMPY will be part of TNN's adult animation block, which will also feature Stan Lee's STRIPERELLA, starring Pamela Anderson, and GARY THE RAT, starring Kelsey Grammer. TNN plans to announce additional animated series at a later date. Since joining MTV Networks in 1993, Albie Hecht has overseen the development and production of Nickelodeon series including RUGRATS and SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS. In 1997 he built Nickelodeon Animation Studios, and took over Nickelodeon Movies, which he will continue to oversee in his new position.
