New York -- H. Thomas Casey, PrimeTime 24's president and
CEO, left the company earlier this month, sources within PT24 confirmed.
At press time, PT24 had not named a replacement for Casey.
It's a tough time for the distant-broadcast-network-signal
distributor to be without strong leadership. The company is likely to be bombarded with
questions from subscribers and the media later this month, as service is scheduled to be
shut off to direct-broadcast satellite customers who had signed up for the distant feeds
illegally.
One DBS analyst speculated that Casey may have become
frustrated with the no-win situation that PT24 finds itself in.
Another analyst said it was hard to question Casey for
leaving the beleaguered company. "The only thing that you can question is the sanity
of the remaining employees," he said, noting that PT24 had already lost its business
to EchoStar Communications Corp., and that local-to-local signal distribution would also
hurt the company.
Sources familiar with the company confirmed reports in last
Friday's Satellite Business News fax update that CBS and Fox had asked a U.S.
District Court in Miami to freeze PT24's assets.
Officials at PT24 and CBS declined to comment on the
report.
PT24 has been encouraging its subscribers to lobby Congress
about the importance of distant-network-signal availability.
On its web site, www.primetime24.com,
the company lists a toll-free number that subscribers in danger of losing their signals
can call for more information and to be directly connected to their Congressional
representatives.
