HBO Chief Knocks Himself Out

HBO's CEO is SOL.

Chris Albrecht was forced to step down as chief of the cable network on Wednesday, his 22-year run at HBO ending amid allegations of roughing up girlfriends past and present.

"With great regret, at the request of Time Warner, I have agreed to step down," Albrecht said in a statement. "I take this step for the benefit of my Home Box Office colleagues, recognizing that I cannot allow my personal circumstances to distract them from the business."

Albrecht's boss, Time Warner Chairman and Chief Executive Richard D. Parsons, echoed the sentiment: "I believe that this is the right decision for the company. We thank Chris for all of his contributions to Home Box Office over the years."

Bill Nelson, HBO's chief operating officer, has assumed interim control of the network.

The ouster comes a day after Albrecht announced he was taking a temporary leave of absence from running the cable network, and Parsons said that he would "monitor this situation closely."

Parsons was referring to Albrecht's weekend arrest in Las Vegas on battery charges following an altercation with his girlfriend, Karla Jensen.

But the "situation" was ratcheted up following a report in the Los Angeles Times that HBO had paid out $400,000 in 1991 to a former female employee after Albrecht allegedly shoved and choked her in the office. The two had been romantically involved. The settlement was supposed to have been confidential.

Albrecht, 54, was arrested just after 3 a.m. Sunday in the valet parking area of the MGM Grand. Officers were called to the scene to break up a physical altercation between Albrecht and his unidentified girlfriend, at which point the TV honcho was arrested and booked into Clark County Jail. He was released of his own recognizance 12 hours later.

On Monday, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Officer Martin Wright said that officers on the scene "determined that Mr. Albrecht was the primary physical aggressor" and that the incident constituted battery, an offense which he described as typically involving "hitting, choking or shoving." The LVPD, HBO or Albrecht's lawyer, David Chesnoff, have refused to elaborate on the incident.

"While I am not at liberty to discuss the incident as the district attorney and my lawyer are still determining the facts, it is my hope to do so in the near future," Albrecht wrote in his memo.

The district attorney is awaiting the results of a police investigation before deciding whether to file charges against Albrecht.

Albrecht and his girlfriend were in Vegas to watch Saturday's boxing match between Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather Jr., which aired as a pay-per-view special on HBO.

Albrecht, 54, is considered an architect of the cable network's huge success, helping shepherd the launches of such zeitgeist-defining shows as Sex and the City and The Sopranos. He was promoted to HBO chairman and CEO in 2002.

In a personal memo to staffers on Tuesday, Albrecht offered a mea culpa for the weekend arrest.

"I am deeply sorry for what occurred in Las Vegas this weekend and for any embarrassment it caused my family, the company I love, and myself," he wrote. "This weekend was a wake-up call to me of a weakness I thought I had overcome long ago.

"I had been a sober member of Alcoholics Anonymous for 13 years. Two years ago, I decided that I could handle drinking again. Clearly, I was wrong. Given that truth, I have committed myself to sobriety."

[EDITOR'S NOTE: On May 11, 2007, Albrecht pleaded no contest to misdemeanor battery for the Las Vegas incident and was ordered to pay a $1,000 fine, undergo domestic violence counseling and agree to stay out of trouble for one year. He released a statement saying his behavior "was clearly inappropriate" and that he and Jensen "now look forward to putting this behind us and getting on with our lives." In her own statement, Jensen blamed the altercation on "both of us drinking too much alcohol...but I still love him and I forgive him."]