**HBO's Albrecht to be dumped

Nikki Finke reports this afternoon that the cable channel's CEO is being told to quit or be fired. It seems that today's LAT report about past bad behavior with women at HBO was the final straw. Finke hears that Time Warner Chief Operating Officer Jeff Bewkes wants to resolve the Albrecht mess before the annual shareholders meeting late next week. Albrecht took a leave of absence yesterday after being arrested over the weekend for allegedly assaulting his girlfriend in Vegas.

**Update: TW makes it official: Albrecht is leaving, effective immediately. "With great regret, at the request of Time Warner, I have agreed to step down as chairman and CEO of Home Box Office," Albrecht said in a statement issued by TW. "I take this step for the benefit of my Home Box Office colleagues, recognizing that I cannot allow my personal circumstances to distract them from the business. I'm very proud of what we have achieved together at Home Box Office, and I wish everybody there many more successes in the future." No word yet on severance or any other aspect of the firing. You could be sure the lawyers have been at it all day.

Many HBO folks were obviously aware of Albrecht's personal failings (the guy really sounded out of control at times), but he was held in remarkably high regard because he helped put the cable network on the map. "It's definitely hard to watch somebody go through this, it's very, very painful for everyone," Carolyn Strauss, president of HBO Entertainment, told the LAT. "I've reported to him for 17 years. He's been my mentor; obviously he's trained me and everybody else here."