RELATED: MTV’s Michael Klein Helps MTV Get Back Into The Groove

MTV has lost its second top executive in as many months as the network’s executive vice president of original content Michael Klein departs eight months after being hired.

Klein’s departure follows that of former MTV president Sean Atkins, who exited the company last month. Current MTV president Chris McCarthy announced Klein’s departure Monday in an internal memo, stating that Klein signed on “under different circumstances to purse a different strategy."

Atkins this past March hired Klein, a former Condé Nast digital channel content executive, to oversee the network’s move toward more music-themed original programming.

It's unclear whether MTV will replace Klein. 

McCarthy’s full memo appears below:

Hope you had a restful Thanksgiving break.  I wanted to let you know that Michael Klein has decided to leave the company.  We’ve been discussing his role these past few weeks, and it’s clear he signed on to the job under different circumstances to pursue a different strategy.  I understand and respect his decision, and the work the Development team has done in the past year.  I want to thank Michael for helping me get up to speed, and for his efforts on behalf of MTV.

Many thanks to the Development team for its continued hard work, commitment and creativity in the meantime.  We’ll have news to share soon about new leadership for programming and development.  I’m confident that together we’ll continue to break new ground, connect with our young audience, and elevate our brand.

For the moment, please join me in thanking Michael and wishing him the best of luck.

MTV — which celebrated its 35th anniversary on Aug. 1 — is looking to recapture the beat of its past by once again making music-themed content a staple of its programing schedule. The reinvention of the iconic network comes even as parent Viacom is racked with C-suite succession issues.

Network executive vice president of original programming Michael Klein has been tasked with developing new and original shows that appeal to MTV’s target demographic of millennials. He’ll seek to do that with series such as Wonderland, a live-music performance show, and Unlocking the Truth, a documentary series that follows prisoners who say they’ve been wrongly convicted as they fight for their freedom.

Klein charted out the network’s original programming strategy in a wide-ranging interview with Multichannel News programming editor R. Thomas Umstead. An edited transcript follows.

MCN:What is your strategy for developing original programming for MTV?

Michael Klein: Music is our muse. We look at music as inspiration, celebrating artists that bring voice to the youth generation. We target 18-to-24-yearolds, but our sweet spot is 21. It’s all about the firsts in their lives — first job, first love, first meaningful breakup, first apartment — and capturing that energy and excitement around the responsibility of adulthood and the fear that also comes along with losing your youth. So you’ll see that across our content, whether it be in the case of Wonderland, straight-on music live every week on our air — the first time in 20 years — to documentary series like Unlocking the Truth.

MCN:Can you effectively mix music content with hard-hitting documentary content, or are you looking to reach a different audience with each genre?

MK: Look, millennials are so curious about the world. I think people often think of millennials as being passive and not engaged, but they are very engaged. They are getting slammed with content all day, every day on all platforms, so we want to tap into that insatiable curiosity and talk to them in a voice that’s authentic and relevant to them about subjects that they really care about.

MCN:A lot of MTV’s new content and stars come directly from the Internet. What’s the strategy behind cultivating content from the online world for the linear channel?

MK: What we really look for are people with a real strong point of view; it doesn’t matter where they come from. It they have a strong online following that’s terrific, but it’s really about finding people with a strong, authentic point of view that will connect and engage with our audience.

MCN:MTV recently rebranded VH1 Classic as MTV Classic, offering vintage MTV music videos and original series content from the 1990s and early 2000s. Was that decision made to reach the older end of the millennial age group that grew up with MTV?

MK: MTV Classic is really the brainchild of a number of people inside the company who knew there was a vault of this incredible content that represents a moment in time in youth culture. It still resonates so deeply not only with that audience, but with audiences today.

When I came to MTV, the first thing that happened was people were sending me lists of the shows they wanted to see brought back. We listened to the audience, and that’s what you’ll find on MTV Classics.

MCN:What is the biggest challenge for MTV in a very noisy and crowded marketplace?

MK: This is one of the most exciting times for content creators in history. There are more platforms and more audience demand than ever for content, and I find this terribly exciting. Every day I think, how can we develop something that can break through and cut through the clutter? I love that challenge, and we work really carefully with our internal teams and production partners on creating experiences that really go back to the MTV spirit of pioneering something, and bringing something that’s new and fresh that can really break through.

MTV continued to add to its executive ranks Wednesday, naming Laurel Weir senior vice president of strategic insights and research for the network.

Weir will be responsible for all research efforts for the millennials-targeted network, including consumer insights, trend forecasting, and multiplatform measurement, according to MTV officials.

Most recently Weir served as senior vice president of strategic insights and research for Viacom Kids and Family Group. Prior to that, Weir served as senior vice president of strategic insights and research at TV Land.

Weir will report to Tanya Giles, Executive Vice President, Strategic Insights and Research for the Viacom Music and Entertainment Group, and will work closely with MTV President Sean Atkins.

The appointment comes on the heels of MTV’s appointment earlier this week of Michael Klein as its executive vice president of original content.

MTV has once again tapped the digital world for a major executive appointment, naming former Condé Nast digital channels content exec Michael Klein as its executive vice president of original content.

Klein effectively replaces Susanne Daniels, who left MTV last July to take over original content duties at YouTube.

Klein will oversee all original programming, development and creative across MTV and its related brands, said network officials. Klein was most recently executive vice president of programming and content strategy for Condé Nast Digital Channels, where he was responsible for programming strategy, development and production for the company’s millennial-targeted digital channels across unscripted, scripted, animation, documentary and virtual reality.

Klein has also held positions at Sundance Channel, where he was senior vice president of programming and development; at Travel Channel, where he served as senior vice president of content; and at TLC, where he was vice president of program production.

He will report to MTV president Sean Atkins, who joined the network in September after serving as executive vice president of digital media and strategy for Discovery Communications.

“Michael is a proven hitmaker with a strong feel for our audience, a keen eye for talent, and a successful track record of reinventing brands through distinctive, creator-driven content,” said Atkins in a statement.  “His leadership and experience are an excellent fit for MTV in this pivotal moment for the network, as we accelerate a new development slate of music and pop culture-inspired programming.”

Klein will take over a network that for a while has struggled on the ratings front and has been looking for a big franchise hit, although the network has had a strong ratings start to 2016. Heading into the last week of the first quarter, MTV’s primetime ratings were up 11% among total viewers and 16% among adults 18-49 with shows such as freshman series The Shannara Chronicles and veteran shows like Faking It, Catfish: The TV Show and Awkward.