Olbermann Signs Off

[Dominato3r]

Olbermann Signs off MSNBC

Commentator Keith Olbermann signed off his msnbc cable television show Friday night after nearly eight years.
"Msnbc and Keith Olbermann have ended our contract," Phil Griffin, president of msnbc, said Friday.
"Msnbc thanks Keith for his integral role in msnbc's success and we wish him well in his future endeavors," Griffin said.

Olbermann announced his departure before closing his show with a reading from a James Thurber novel, a Friday night tradition.
Recounting his move to msnbc after departing ESPN, Olbermann said, "I was supposed to fill in for the late Jerry Nachman for exactly three days. 49 days later there was a four-year contract for me to return to this nightly 8 PM time slot which I had fled four years earlier."
He noted that the show gradually established an anti-establishment position.

"The program grew thanks entirely to your support with great rewards for me and I hope for you," Olbermann told viewers.

"There were many occasions particularly in the last two and a half years where all that surrounded the show — but never the show itself — was just too much for me. But your support and loyalty and if I may use the word insistence ultimately required that I keep going."

Olbermann did not explain why he was leaving.
Msnbc spokesman Jeremy Gaines would say only that the acquisition of NBC Universal by Comcast, which received regulatory approval this week, had nothing to do with the decision.

The host apologized to fans — but not to the network.
On Friday, Olbermann thanked viewers for donating $2 million to the National Association of Free Clinics, supporting other causes and for showing his dying father that there is good in people.

 

[mjrpes3]

There must be some crazy back drama.

 

[sportage]

Olbermann has been offered another stick in the world of media. He was looking forward to the exit. Believe me... he is a very happy camper tonight!!!

 

[ultimatebob]

Great, one less paritisan blowhard on Cable TV news.

Do you think that we can get Sean Hannity off of the air next?

 

[Patranus]

"Msnbc thanks Keith for his integral role in msnbc's success and we wish him well in his future endeavors," Griffin said.

LOL @ the oxymoron?

Anyways, to recap their "success"

Net	8PM	P2+ (000s)	25-54 (000s)	35-64 (000s)
FNC	THE OREILLY FACTOR	2,918	676	1,324
CNN	PARKER SPITZER	522	110	212
MSNBC	COUNTDOWN W/ K. OLBERMANN	1,106	198	457
CNBC	INSIDE THE MIND OF GOOGLE	160	50	67
HLN	NANCY GRACE	632	143	298

Thats right, he does 1/3 the competition. I guess "success" is a relative term over there at MSNBC. Comcast probably wants to make the *NBCs profitable and something people actually watch.

 

[NeoV]

thanks patranus for pointing out that bill O's show had better ratings than Olberman - where would we be without your wise words?

 

[Zebo]

LOL @ the oxymoron?

Anyways, to recap their "success"

Net	8PM	P2+ (000s)	25-54 (000s)	35-64 (000s)
FNC	THE OREILLY FACTOR	2,918	676	1,324
CNN	PARKER SPITZER	522	110	212
MSNBC	COUNTDOWN W/ K. OLBERMANN	1,106	198	457
CNBC	INSIDE THE MIND OF GOOGLE	160	50	67
HLN	NANCY GRACE	632	143	298

Thats right, he does 1/3 the competition. I guess "success" is a relative term over there at MSNBC. Comcast probably wants to make the *NBCs profitable and something people actually watch.

You need to post ratings of that time slot MSNBC was getting prior to Kieth's arrival to judge that statement. You don't happen to attend Texas schools do you?

 

[OrByte]

sounds good to me!

 

[Brigandier]

Now what will he do?

Sportscaster -> Blowhard -> ?

 

[LegendKiller]

Now what will he do?

Sportscaster -> Blowhard -> QLIGARHY

Fxt

 

[Brigandier]

Fxt

Wait, what?

 

[Craig234]

This is very bad news, if he's not on a new show - he's one of the two decent tv news shows, with Maddow.

Who knows what the story is, this is the same network that cannceled their top show Phil Donahue to not have any show questioning Bush after Iraq.

 

[lupi]

this is an interesting development. from couple clips I just read doesn't seem like there was much of a published warning this was going to happen.

 

[Zebo]

TMZ which usually gets stuff right says just the opposite.

Keith Olbermann -- Fired By MSNBC

23 minutes ago by TMZ Staff

Keith Olbermann was fired by MSNBC sources tell TMZ, and we're told it had everything to do with Comcast's acquisition of NBC.


Sources connected with the network tell us ... Comcast honchos did not like Keith's defiance and the way he played in the sandbox.

Our sources say Keith has around two years left on his contract, and he'll be paid his salary -- around $7 million a year.

We don't know if Comcast will let Keith make a deal with another network as part of an exit agreement, but it's a good bet he'll be benched for a minimum of 6 months, and probably longer.

 

[LegendKiller]

TMZ which usually gets stuff right says just the opposite.

Keith Olbermann -- Fired By MSNBC

23 minutes ago by TMZ Staff

Keith Olbermann was fired by MSNBC sources tell TMZ, and we're told it had everything to do with Comcast's acquisition of NBC.


Sources connected with the network tell us ... Comcast honchos did not like Keith's defiance and the way he played in the sandbox.

Our sources say Keith has around two years left on his contract, and he'll be paid his salary -- around $7 million a year.

We don't know if Comcast will let Keith make a deal with another network as part of an exit agreement, but it's a good bet he'll be benched for a minimum of 6 months, and probably longer.

It's already begun.

 

[spacejamz]

You need to post ratings of that time slot MSNBC was getting prior to Kieth's arrival to judge that statement. You don't happen to attend Texas schools do you?

Why does he need to do that? Even if Keith doubled his audience from before he started, he was still getting his ass kicked. Or do moral victories count now?

What does that have to do with Texas schools?

 

[Patranus]

To put it in different terms

[b][u]THURS. JAN. 20, 2011[/u][/b]
FOXNEWS O'REILLY 2,918,000
FOXNEWS HANNITY 2,079,000
FOXNEWS BAIER 1,940,000
FOXNEWS SHEP 1,786,000
FOXNEWS BECK 1,780,000
FOXNEWS GRETA 1,460,000
[b]MSNBC OLBERMANN 1,106,000[/b]
CNN PIERS 1,025,000
MSNBC MADDOW 976,000
MSNBC O'DONNELL 855,000
MSNBC SCHULTZ 760,000
CNN COOPER 740,000
MSNBC HARDBALL 700,00

 

[Brigandier]

To put it in different terms

[b][u]THURS. JAN. 20, 2011[/u][/b]
FOXNEWS O'REILLY 2,918,000
FOXNEWS HANNITY 2,079,000
FOXNEWS BAIER 1,940,000
FOXNEWS SHEP 1,786,000
FOXNEWS BECK 1,780,000
FOXNEWS GRETA 1,460,000
[b]MSNBC OLBERMANN 1,106,000[/b]
CNN PIERS 1,025,000
MSNBC MADDOW 976,000
MSNBC O'DONNELL 855,000
MSNBC SCHULTZ 760,000
CNN COOPER 740,000
MSNBC HARDBALL 700,00

Good to see Piers doing well so early, I like his English ass. I always think the English are good at talking to people, could be because they invented communicating in English.

 

[MovingTarget]

I hope that this had nothing to do with the Comcast merger. It should have not been allowed to happen. Content and delivery should be separate markets entirely.

That being said, Kieth is no doubt onto greener pastures. He will be fine, and it is only a matter of time before we are hearing from him on a regular basis again.

 

[xenolith]

Keith Olbermann had a show on MSNBC?

 

[chucky2]

Comcast -> MSNBC: Get that F'ing idiot off the air, whatever it takes.

MSNBC -> Comcast: Consider it done...

 

[LegendKiller]

Comcast -> MSNBC: Get that F'ing idiot off the air, whatever it takes.

MSNBC -> Comcast: Consider it done...

That's what is so sad about it.

 

[chucky2]

Sad that it's so obvious, sad that Olbermoron is such a fake blowhard, or both?

 

[Brigandier]

Sad that it's so obvious, sad that Olbermoron is such a fake blowhard, or both?

Sad that only one such blowhard has to face consequences.

 

[Balt]

NY Times says part of his exit agreement stipulates that he can't go do a show elsewhere (for a while anyway).