Keith Olbermann Out at ESPN…. the pink slips keep on coming from The Worldwide Leader. Bill Simmons, rumors of Colin Cowherd, now Olbermann. All three are/were controversial…. and had Big Buck contracts. The broadcasting rights fees that ESPN must pay to pro / NCAA are escalating exponentially. Looks like ESPN Poobah John Skipper (UNC’75) has decided to trim his in-house on-air budget. Strategy being that the woods are fill of Adam Gold-types across America…. so why pay for “Big Names”. A sound strategy? BobLee thinks “Yes, It Is”.
Olbermann has indicated he might want to go back to political-talk where he went the last time he was ousted from ESPN.
ESPN will not renew the contract of Keith Olbermann
Keith Olbermann is leaving ESPN for a second time, according to a report from James Andrew Miller, the co-author of a book about ESPN, These Guys Have All The Fun.
UPDATE: ESPN has confirmed the report in a statement, saying the show will “conclude sometime this month.”
Following is a statement from ESPN about the future of the Olbermann show, which will conclude sometime this month:
“Keith is a tremendous talent who has consistently done timely, entertaining and thought-provoking work since returning to ESPN. While the show’s content was distinctive and extremely high quality, we ultimately made a business decision to move in another direction. We wish Keith nothing but the best and trust that his skill and ability will lead him to another promising endeavor.”
Olbermann got his start with ESPN, before moving into covering politics for Fox News and MSNBC. In 2013, he returned to the network, where he got his own show to talk about sports and whatever else was bugging him.
ESPN appears to be moving away from high-priced talent who can be inflammatory, as this decision follows the much-talked-about move by the network to not renew the contract of former Grantland editor Bill Simmons.
Let the speculation about where Olbermann goes next commence.
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