Betty Cohen has resigned as president of Lifetime Entertainment Services, announcing her decision after giving the company's upfront presentation in New York.

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Cohen leaves after two years at Lifetime, during which the network's ratings tumbled, The Hollywood Reporter said Thursday. Channels such as TNT and USA Network nudged Lifetime out of the top spot it had occupied several years ago, and few original additions to the schedule found an audience.

Cohen, in a statement, cited an interest in taking on "new challenges" as a reason for leaving.

"Having just shepherded the company through this year's upfront presentation with a fantastic slate of original programming that advertisers and media buyers responded to enthusiastically, I felt that the time was right for this transition," she said.

Lifetime's joint owners, The Walt Disney Co. and the Hearst Corp., said in a statement they respected Cohen's decision to leave.

"We are very grateful for her dedication and contributions to Lifetime over the past two years and wish her our best in all her future endeavors," said Anne Sweeney, co-chair of Disney Media Networks and president of Disney-ABC TV Group, and John Conomikes, director of the Hearst Corp.