Olbermann joins Current TV as host, executive
Washington, DC, United States (AHN) – Former MSNBC anchor Keith Olbermann will begin hosting a show later this year on Current TV, the cable network co-founded by former Vice President Al Gore.
Olbermann will serve as executive producer of a nightly primetime show that will provide news and commentary. The unapologetic liberal also joins the network as chief news officer and will have an equity stake in the company.
“Nothing is more vital to a free America than a free media, and nothing is more vital to my concept of a free media than news produced independently of corporate interference,” Olbermann said in a statement released by Current TV.
The news, which Olbermann also announced to his more than 200,000 Twitter followers, comes less than three weeks after the former sports broadcaster left MSNBC.
Olbermann hosted “Countdown with Keith Olbermann” for eight years until Jan. 21, when he announced that night’s show would be the last. His sudden departure came after his suspension in November for donating to three Democratic congressional candidates, and the approval of Comcast’s acquisition of NBC Universal.
“Countdown” was MSNBC’s highest-rated show but a source of criticism for its liberal commentary, which Olbermann delivered in his signature rapid, provocative rhetorical style that heavily referenced pop culture.
A strident critic of the political right wing, Olbermann worked as a correspondent for CNN’s “NewsNight” and an anchor for ESPN’s “SportsCenter” before “Countdown.” He will have some measure of independence at Current TV, which unlike his previous networks is owned privately and independently.
Olbermann brings a wider audience to Current TV, which was founded in 2005 as a user-generated channel targeting people younger than 34 but re-formatted in 2009 to gain more viewership.
Current TV is available in 60 million homes nationwide via cable and satellite, and in 15 million homes in the United Kingdom and Italy.
“Keith Olbermann is one of our great provocateurs,” Current TV chief executive Mark Rosenthal said in a statement. “His style and voice are perfectly aligned with the programming we’ve developed to deliver.”
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