Also leaving: Greg Wilkes, VP-sales. I’ve been told COO John Gilmore will take the reins for now but that may not be official. While no one is talking about any differences, there certainly is a big cultural gap between the tech-creative side and the traditional cable team at EchoStar. (Coming back to this, I think it goes beyond that kind of tension. Charlie Ergen is chairman, president and CEO or EchStar for a reason: he likes control. The tight approach works with some better than others.) As for timing, Hirshhorn said in a phone interview following the announcement that he and the others wanted to get the programming and integration in place, then make it through another CES: “Now it’s time for the entrepreneurs to move on.” The former MTVN (NYSE: VIA) digital head joined Sling in 2006 with White, also an MTVN exec, to launch the entertainment group. Future plans for now: the Krikorians, Hirschhorn and White all are planning to take some time off.

Update: Just got off the phone with Blake Krikorian, who says his departure is effective immediately. “I’m out of there now. I want to just cut it ... it’s best just to get it done because it’s not easy. It’s like a break up but it’s time to get on. It’s bittersweet, for sure.” It’s especially tough because he feels Sling is just hitting its stride but “it’s a good time to stop and I can’t complain. ... [Our] investors are happy and I don’t have to worry, my kids are fine.” As for Sling’s 200 or so employees, Blake says he has been preparing for this and made some leadership recommendations to EchoStar.

He hasn’t discussed financials since the acquisition but, for some perspective, Sling has passed the million mark in sales of its trademark Slingbox and we estimate revenues of about $200 million. A number of its products are just emerging from the pipeline, while the pairing of Sling’s technology for set-top sales is still nascent.