'Best Week Ever' Exec Out at VH1

Fred Graver, former head of programming for VH1 and creator of its Best Week Ever franchise, is leaving the network, according to several sources. Emails to Graver were met by an out-of-office message saying he's "on walkabout," but he has let it be known that he won't be back.*

Graver was in charge of programming and production for the network from June 2001 until May 2002. It was a fallow period, in terms of ratings -- "post Behind The Music and pre-Celebreality," as one source put it -- and he was soon demoted, with MTV entertainment president Brian Graden taking over his duties. (They were later handed to Michael Hirschorn.)

But Graver got a second life at the network in January 2004, when he launched Best Week Ever, the zeitgeist-y commentary/comedy show that became a VH1 staple. More recently, Graver had been developing a network of sites under the aegis of the Linked Media Group. I'm told that Graver did not get along with Tina Imm, VH1's vice president for digital media.

Various VH1 officials have yet to respond to calls for comment.

UPDATE: Gaurav Misra confirms he's replacing Graver as head of Linked Media.

*UPDATE 2: A VH1 spokesman confirms that Graver is "pursuing other opportunities." Misra, meanwhile, won't be taking over Linked Media per se -- it's being disbanded -- but he will be working on site development with Tina Imm.