MTV executive Chris Linn has officially been named president and head of programming at truTV, replacing Marc Juris at the helm of the Turner-owned network.
The hire, which was first reported by Variety earlier this month, puts Linn in charge of all of truTV's programming, including development and production, marketing, digital initiatives and strategic planning. He is based in New York and reports to president of Turner Entertainment Networks Steve Koonin.
"Chris brings to truTV a remarkable track record of success highlighted by some of the most pop-culturally relevant and engaging series on television," said Koonin in a statement. "With his proven ability to reach and understand the young-adult audience, Chris has successfully developed shows that evolve beyond the television screen to become full-fledged phenomena. Chris has the strategic vision and energy to take truTV forward in the next phase of the network's brand evolution as it continues to grow competitively in the unscripted arena."
Linn was most recently executive VP and head of production at MTV, a role he held since 2010. He first joined the network in 2004; helping to develop and oversee recent hits like Jersey Shore, Snooki & JWOWW and Catfish during his tenure. Prior to MTV, Linn held various positions at fellow Viacom networks Nickelodeon and Spike TV.
TruTV, which grew out of the rebrand of Court TV in 2008, averaged 1.1 million viewers, in the first quarter of 2013, down 5% from the same period last year. During this upfront, the network announced plans to transition half its lineup to comedic reality programming in the vein of recent hits like Impractical Jokers and Killer Karaoke.
MTV meanwhile, promoted a trio of execs to take over Linn's responsibilities. Lauren Dolgen has been upped to head ot West Coast reality programming and executive VP of series development. She will now oversee the development of all of the net's west coast based reality slate. In addition, Kimberly Rach and Andrew Portnoy will now co-head production for MTV, with Rach based in Santa Monica, Calif. and Portnoy in New York.
