Jim Blackley, Cablevision Systems' head of corporate engineering and technology, is the latest high-ranking executive to leave the company, Light Reading reported Tuesday, and industry sources said veteran cable technologist Wilt Hildenbrand will return to the MSO full-time with Blackley's departure.
Sources independently confirmed Light Reading's report Tuesday about Blackley's impending departure. Cablevision did not respond to a request for comment.
This week, former SeaChange International president Yvette Kanouff joined the Bethpage, N.Y.-based operator, as first reported by Multichannel News.
Kanouff, whose title is executive vice president of engineering, software design, will not be assuming Blackley's role, according to industry sources.
Rather, Cablevision will be bringing Hildenbrand out of semi-retirement to run its engineering and technology group, sources said.
Hildenbrand has served as "senior advisor" of engineering and technology for Cablevision since 2006, when Blackley took over full-time technology management duties.
Blackley, who joined Cablevision in 1996, was named senior VP of corporate engineering and technology in 2006 and promoted to executive vice president two years later.
Blackley becomes the latest senior Cablevision executive to leave in the last several months.
Tom Rutledge, previously chief operating officer, resigned in December and is now CEO of Charter Communications. That came one month after president of cable operations John Bickham left. Last week, Cablevision said executive vice president of marketing Jonathan Hargis will leave the cable company to pursue other opportunities.
Hildenbrand first joined Cablevision as chief engineer of the company's Long Island system in 1976. From 1979 to 1986, he served as director of engineering for Rainbow Media Holdings, the former Cablevision programming subsidiary now known as AMC Networks.
From 1986 through 1992, Hildenbrand was Cablevision's vice president of engineering and led the fiber-optic network implementation that powers the company's digital TV, voice and broadband services today.
In announcing Kanouff's hiring Monday, Cablevision said she would report to both Hildenbrand and Blackley.
