​Turner Entertainment Networks President Steve Koonin is leaving the company after 14 years to become the new CEO of the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks.

Koonin, known as a hardcore sports fan who also quoted Green Day’s “Time of Your Life” in his farewell memo to colleagues, comes one month before Turner Entertainment’s upfront presentation to advertisers.

“Here at Turner, I have certainly had the time of my life and I hope you have as well. I wish all of you lots of love and good wishes for the future,” Koonin wrote on Monday. “Please root for the Hawks, and rest assured that I will always be cheering for our networks and you.”

Turner Broadcasting Systems President David Levy said Monday that a search for Koonin’s replacement would begin immediately, and promised to look at both internal and external candidates.

Koonin arrived at Turner in 2000 to take charge of TNT, and eventually rose through the ranks to run the enter entertainment unit, which also includes TBS, TCM, and TruTV.

Variety reported Monday that it was on the former marketing exec’s watch that Turner began associating TNT with dramas and TBS with comedies as a way to give the company’s brands a clearer identity. Deadline described Koonin as “spearheading” the rebranding efforts that brought taglines “We Know Drama” to TNT and “Very Funny” to TBS.

Read More: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline

Brief Take: Koonin helped bring a clearer identity to Turner’s cable channels at a time when the television marketplace was just beginning to enter its new hyper-competitive environment.

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