• by David Goetzl , June 9, 2009

Henry Schleiff, who built Court TV into an entity valued at $1.5 billion, has been named the head of a Discovery Communications network in 54 million homes. The executive, who recently vacated the CEO post at the parent of Hallmark Channel, takes over as president and general manager of Investigation Discovery.

Known as ID, the channel was re-branded in 2008 after a run as the Discovery Times Channel.

The new position, which was created for Schleiff, is an effective creative homecoming for him. ID focuses on crime-related programming.

When Schleiff arrived at Court TV, prime time was devoted to often dry analysis of the day's legal proceedings. But he turned the network into an entertainment hub, rife with reality series that had a link to criminal justice -- albeit often a tangential one.

The burgeoning reality programming led the network to be re-branded as truTV after Time Warner bought the 50% it did not own in 2006 for $735 million.

Discovery Communications CEO David Zaslav considers "emerging networks" such as ID as "beachfront property." He is no doubt looking to Schleiff to turn what may be an apartment with an ocean view into a seaside villa. Both Court TV and Hallmark had distribution far greater than ID's 54 million.

Zaslav said Schleiff has "an unparalleled track record in the investigative genre ... and has created a tremendous amount of value throughout his career." At Crown Media, Schleiff helped to secure carriage agreements that were critical to Hallmark Channel's long-term viability.

Schleiff will report to Clark Bunting, president and general manager of Discovery Emerging Networks.