Spike TV, which claims to be the "first network for men," has fired chief Albie Hecht for attracting too many female viewers, the New York Post said Monday.

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Hecht helped launch Spike in 2003 after it had been through several earlier manifestations as The Nashville Network and The National Network, among others.

Hecht issued a statement Sunday saying his departure from the Viacom-owned network was "due to creative differences" with his bosses at Nickelodeon, which oversees Spike.

In the first year of Spike, women accounted for just 32 percent of the network's prime time audience, according to Broadcasting & Cable magazine.

But starting last year, nightly runs of "CSI" pushed the female audience to 42 percent.

There was no immediate indication of who would replace Hecht, the newspaper said.