Sling Media Loses Its Executive Team

EchoStar Technologies, the owner and maintainer of the satellite fleet that provides the signal that Dish Network markets, has got one of its arms in a sling. The parent company of Sling Media, developer of the Slingbox, lost five members of its executive team this week, according to a report from blog paidContent.org.

CEO Blake Krikorian, his brother and co-founder and Senior Vice President of Business Development Jason Krikorian, President Jason Hirschhorn, Chief Creative Officer Ben White, and Vice President of Sales Greg Wilkes have decided to move on from the company after the expiration of an agreement, which saw the leadership team remain in place after EchoStar acquired Sling Media for $380 million in September 2007.

In an interview with paidContent, Blake Krikorian said it was the right time for him to move on and said he had offered leadership recommendations to EchoStar. "I'm out of there now. I want to just cut it ... it's best just to get it done because it's not easy," he said. "It's like a breakup, but it's time to get on."

Slingbox is a TV streaming device that enables users to remotely view their home's cable, satellite or PVR (personal video recorder) programming from an Internet-enabled computer with a broadband Internet connection. The company received high-profile accolades recently, including Best of Show awards at both CES and Macworld, though it faces increasing competition from digital distribution sites such as Hulu, run by NBC, and Apple.