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Comcast Fires NBC Host Keith Olbermann After Feds Approve Merger
Cable host Keith Olbermann and news channel MSNBC abruptly parted ways on Friday night, as the network announced it had agreed to end his contract and the last installment of his show would air that evening.
The surprise announcement strips MSNBC of its most-watched evening anchor after an increasingly tempestuous relationship, coming less than three months after the network briefly suspended the fiery host.
"MSNBC thanks Keith for his integral role in MSNBC's success and we wish him well in his future endeavors," the network said in an emailed statement just before the end of Mr. Olbermann's Friday program.
MSNBC and Mr. Olbermann have been discussing parting ways for some time, according to a person familiar with the matter. That person said they ultimately came to a financial agreement to end his contract two years early. The host signed a four-year deal worth $30 million in 2008.
Neither side offered an explanation for their split. On the air, Mr. Olbermann said it would be his last show, and thanked viewers.
The quick change Friday set off a game of musical chairs, as MSNBC moved to fill the hole "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" will leave behind. The network said its 10 p.m. host Lawrence O'Donnell would move into Mr. Olbermann's slot 8 p.m. slot beginning on Monday.
Meanwhile radio host Ed Schultz, who has hosted a 6 p.m. show on MSNBC since 2009, will take over Mr. O'Donnell's 10 p.m. time slot.
Executives have said tensions between Mr. Olbermann and the network have been running high since their spat in November, when the host was suspended for making three donations to Democratic candidates without seeking approval beforehand.
Mr. Olbermann missed two broadcasts during his suspension. MSNBC asked Mr. Olbermann to make a public apology for running afoul of its ethics rules before reinstating him, according to another person familiar with the matter. But Mr. Olbermann resisted so long as MSNBC kept him suspended, the person said.
After MSNBC lifted its suspension, Mr. Olbermann released a statement apologizing to viewers. But at least some senior executives and others at the network remained angry over Mr. Olbermann's behavior, before and during the affair, a person familiar with their thinking said at the time.
Mr. Olbermann made his debut on "Countdown" in 2003 and quickly became the face of MSNBC's more liberal tilt in its evening hours. Along with fellow host Rachel Maddow, he helped catapult MSNBC ahead of Time Warner Inc.'s CNN in the size of its primetime audience.
Mr. Olbermann averaged 1 million viewers in 2010 in the 8 p.m. hour, according to Nielsen Co. figures from MSNBC, a distant second to Fox News's Bill O'Reilly, but nearly double what CNN averaged against him in the hour. (News Corp. owns both Fox News and the Wall Street Journal.)
Mr. Olbermann's exit comes on the eve of Comcast Corp.'s takeover of network parent NBC Universal, in a deal that received regulatory approval in Washington earlier this week.
An MSNBC spokesman said that Comcast was informed of the decision, but not involved in making it.
Source: AP
The surprise announcement strips MSNBC of its most-watched evening anchor after an increasingly tempestuous relationship, coming less than three months after the network briefly suspended the fiery host.
"MSNBC thanks Keith for his integral role in MSNBC's success and we wish him well in his future endeavors," the network said in an emailed statement just before the end of Mr. Olbermann's Friday program.
MSNBC and Mr. Olbermann have been discussing parting ways for some time, according to a person familiar with the matter. That person said they ultimately came to a financial agreement to end his contract two years early. The host signed a four-year deal worth $30 million in 2008.
Neither side offered an explanation for their split. On the air, Mr. Olbermann said it would be his last show, and thanked viewers.
The quick change Friday set off a game of musical chairs, as MSNBC moved to fill the hole "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" will leave behind. The network said its 10 p.m. host Lawrence O'Donnell would move into Mr. Olbermann's slot 8 p.m. slot beginning on Monday.
Meanwhile radio host Ed Schultz, who has hosted a 6 p.m. show on MSNBC since 2009, will take over Mr. O'Donnell's 10 p.m. time slot.
Executives have said tensions between Mr. Olbermann and the network have been running high since their spat in November, when the host was suspended for making three donations to Democratic candidates without seeking approval beforehand.
Mr. Olbermann missed two broadcasts during his suspension. MSNBC asked Mr. Olbermann to make a public apology for running afoul of its ethics rules before reinstating him, according to another person familiar with the matter. But Mr. Olbermann resisted so long as MSNBC kept him suspended, the person said.
After MSNBC lifted its suspension, Mr. Olbermann released a statement apologizing to viewers. But at least some senior executives and others at the network remained angry over Mr. Olbermann's behavior, before and during the affair, a person familiar with their thinking said at the time.
Mr. Olbermann made his debut on "Countdown" in 2003 and quickly became the face of MSNBC's more liberal tilt in its evening hours. Along with fellow host Rachel Maddow, he helped catapult MSNBC ahead of Time Warner Inc.'s CNN in the size of its primetime audience.
Mr. Olbermann averaged 1 million viewers in 2010 in the 8 p.m. hour, according to Nielsen Co. figures from MSNBC, a distant second to Fox News's Bill O'Reilly, but nearly double what CNN averaged against him in the hour. (News Corp. owns both Fox News and the Wall Street Journal.)
Mr. Olbermann's exit comes on the eve of Comcast Corp.'s takeover of network parent NBC Universal, in a deal that received regulatory approval in Washington earlier this week.
An MSNBC spokesman said that Comcast was informed of the decision, but not involved in making it.
Source: AP