Sling Media Co-Founders, Other Execs To Leave CompanySling Media Co-Founders, Other Execs To Leave Company

The co-founders of Sling Media, makers of a device that streams cable TV to a notebook or mobile phone, are leaving the company, along with three other top executives.

Sling Media declined to comment Tuesday, but co-founder and chief executive Blake Krikorian told the San Jose Mercury News that he and his brother, Jason, were leaving the company immediately. Jason Krikorian is Sling's executive VP of business development.

Krikorian told the newspaper that he and his brother prefer running their own business. The Krikorians sold Sling Media a year ago to EchoStar, the technology company spun off by satellite TV provider Dish Network.

"As much as I love the team and am incredibly excited about what they're doing, it's not the best fit for me, for where I am in my life," Krikorian told the Mercury News.

Also leaving Sling are Jason Hirshhorn, president of Sling's entertainment group; Ben White, chief creative officer; and Gregg Wilkes, VP of sales, the newspaper said.

At the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this month, Sling Media announced that it 's working on a prototype of its SlingPlayer Mobile device for the Apple iPhone.

Sling also launched at CES a beta release of the SlingPlayer for Research in Motion's BlackBerry smartphone. The new device requires BlackBerry software 4.5 or greater. Sling software has supported the Windows Mobile, Palm OS, and Symbian S60 platforms since 2006.