The IT budget will no longer be managed by IT with a spokesman for the television network confirming Monday the CFO, Peter Lewis, will take full responsibility for all IT spending, effective immediately.

Channel Seven has effectively split IT, with the CFO charged with the budget while operations is managed by the head of engineering, Trevor Bird.

The network's general manager of group IT services, Steven Longo, is leaving in December, 2006.

While Longo was willing to confirm his departure yesterday he refused to comment on claims Channel Seven is downgrading IT operations.

Longo is the second senior IT executive to leave Channel Seven with information systems manager Peter Whitford resigning earlier this year after more than 20 years with the network.