NEW YORK - Veteran ABC executive and former CNN chief Rick Kaplan will replace Erik Sorenson as the head of struggling MSNBC, news executives said Tuesday.

Executives from both NBC News and ABC News confirmed the move, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Kaplan is well-known in the television circles for terrific ability to plan war coverage and even won an award for his work at ABC News, where he was a senior executive.

But Kaplan faces a new challenge in MSNBC, who's failed at every form of programming since becoming a network.

While MSNBC generally draws a younger audience than its competitors, it has suffered an identity crisis brought in partly by its frequent and abrupt shifts in focus.

The network recently hired Deborah Norville for a prime-time talk show. A news program with Keith Olbermann and talk show with Joe Scarborough are the network's other prime-time shows.

"However, no one knows who the hell those guys are," said an MSNBC relations representive. "Personally I think our committment to the younger viewers will be expidited by this hire."

The representative went on to say that he expects the network to sign Spongebob Squarepants for their vacated 7-8 p.m. slot.