HILL TO EXIT BET

After an 18-year tenure at BET, President of Programming Stephen Hill will be exiting the network. SVP Connie Orlando is handling interim duties.

Also departing the network: EVP and head of digital programming Zola Mashariki.

More details to follow.

Like other Viacom properties, BET has moved away from music programming in favor of original content and reality series, including the big-budget John Singleton series, Rebel, a Hill passion project that debuted last night with word on the street about potentially disastrous ratings.

The well-respected Hill joined BET in 1999 after serving at MTV as Director of Music Programming; he began his career at radio in Boston's WILD-AM.