Betty Cohen Resigns as President & CEO, Lifetime Entertainment Services

Respected cable television executive Betty Cohen, who has served for the past two years as President and CEO of Lifetime Entertainment Services, has tendered her resignation, it was announced today by Anne Sweeney, Co- chair Disney Media Networks and President, Disney-ABC Television Group, and by John Conomikes, Director, The Hearst Corporation. Lifetime Entertainment Services is a 50/50 joint venture of The Hearst Corporation and The Walt Disney Company.

In commenting on her decision, Ms. Cohen said: "The past two years have been fantastic, but it's time for me to take on new challenges. Having just shepherded the company through this year's Upfront presentation with a fantastic slate of original programming that advertisers and media buyers responded to enthusiastically, I felt that the time was right for this transition. There is an amazingly talented, hard-working team in place at Lifetime, and I wish them all continued success and great luck in the future. As for what the future holds for me, all I can say is 'stay tuned.'"

In commenting on Ms. Cohen's resignation, Ms. Sweeney and Mr. Conomikes said: "Saying goodbye to a trusted and admired colleague is never easy, but we respect Betty's decision to move on at this time. We are very grateful for her dedication and contributions to Lifetime over the past two years, and wish her our best in all her future endeavors."

An innovative and consistently successful brand builder and programmer, Ms. Cohen, during a tenure that spanned 14 years at Turner Broadcasting Systems, Inc., oversaw the creation and launch of the all-animation Cartoon Network. Her role as President of Cartoon Network Worldwide encompassed building the network's brand and popularizing its characters - both classic and original - across multiple entertainment and merchandising platforms. Additionally, she oversaw CartoonNetwork.com; Cartoon Network Studios, which created acclaimed series "Power Puff Girls," "Dexter's Lab" and "Samurai Jack"; and programming strategies and brand marketing for Cartoon Networks Europe, Latin America, Asia Pacific and Japan.

Prior to founding Cartoon Network, Ms. Cohen was Senior Vice President and General Manager of Turner Network Television (TNT). She joined TNT from a position as Director of on-air promotion and interstitial programming for Nickelodeon/Nick at Nite. She also worked as a writer-producer of on-air promotion for Cable Health Network, and later served as Managing Senior Producer of on-air promotion for Lifetime Television. She began her career as a broadcast producer for Public Media Center in San Francisco.

Prior to joining Lifetime, Ms. Cohen was President, Betty Cohen Media Consulting, where she advised multiple companies in the areas of brand building, cable channel development and multi-platform programming.

Ms. Cohen is the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2006 Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame honor and the 2006 Muse Award from New York Women in Film. She was awarded the PROMAX/BDA Pinnacle Award and the Multichannel News Global Programming Award in 2001, and in 2000 she was named one of The 50 Most Powerful Women in Business by Fortune magazine and received the prestigious NCTA Vanguard Award for programmers. In June 1999, Ms. Cohen was cited by Advertising Age as one of the country's Top 100 Marketers, and in 1998 the publication named Cartoon Network Cable Marketer of the Year. In addition, she was named the PROMAX International Marketer of the Year in 1997.

Ms. Cohen holds a Bachelor of Arts in communications from Stanford University, where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa