• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, October 5, 2006

Henry Schleiff's appointment Wednesday as the top executive at Crown Media Holdings, the parent of the Hallmark Channel, yielded modest optimism on Wall Street. The company's stock price rose slightly on the news. Shares increased 1.64 percent (7 cents) to $4.34.

The stock has had a lackluster performance recently as the company pulled itself off the auction block this spring. The Hallmark Channel has seen ratings and ad revenues rise, but a burdensome film library and other programming-related costs have been a drag.

Schleiff, the former head of Court TV, is credited with boosting that network's viability by transforming its prime-time lineup from legal news and commentary to entertainment programming.

But his role there was only tangentially on Wall Street's radar, since Court was half-owned by Liberty Media and Time Warner--and a small player inside each conglomerate. TW bought out Liberty's 50 percent this spring, and Schleiff left his post.

In his new position as Crown Media President-CEO, Schleiff's leadership will be directly tracked by the Street. The previous CEO, David Evans, left the company in May after the unsuccessful sale attempt.

Liberty Media, whose President-CEO Greg Maffei effusively praised Schleiff's leadership at Court TV before the divestiture, is a major investor in Crown Media.

Crown Media's 52-week high share price is $10.97.