From Hot Air, just a rumor at the moment:
NYT: Olbermann to join … Al Gore’s Current TV
Unconfirmed thus far, but the Times hears buzz. Two words: “equity stake.”
One of the people with knowledge of the plans said Mr. Olbermann would have an equity stake in Current TV. The people insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized by their employers to comment in advance of the official announcement…
Current TV has set up a presentation with advertisers for Wednesday afternoon in Manhattan to announce its future plans. The channel may be betting on Mr. Olbermann to put it on the cable map. The low-rated five-year-old channel needs the help. Targeting young people, it originally subsisted on YouTube-style submissions and video journalists. More recently it started producing and acquiring traditional television series, like repeats of “This American Life.”…
…
A move to Current TV would challenge Mr. Olbermann’s fans of his MSNBC show — where he drew about a million viewers a night — to follow him to a channel that is considerably less accessible. Current TV is available in only about 60 million homes, and is usually available only on the digital tier of cable television systems, which requires a separate receiver. MSNBC, which is owned by NBC Universal, is available in 85 million homes and is almost always available as a basic cable entry…
With Current TV, Mr. Olbermann would also gain a measure of independence. Unlike most cable channels, including MSNBC, which are owned by large media companies, Current is privately and independently owned by Mr. Gore and other backers.
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I see a “worst global warming denier in the world” feature in our future.
Yech.
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Who would’ve thought Olby could get even less viewers than he did on MSNBC?
Time to change the network name to Blowhard TV. Gore and Olbermann are a perfect match. One can only dream of a ‘news’ show with both of them pontificating, or even better a sitcom… maybe a remake of Gilligan’s Island, with the island threatened by rising sea levels of course, and perhaps Joe Romm guest starring as the Gilligan.
Or maybe a new version of ‘Cheers’ set in Hansen’s lab or at the Climate Rapid Response Team HQ.
The possibilities are endless.
You gotta love this spin…
“For Olbermann, his move to Current gives him a chance to wield large influence over a a relatively tiny network. Current averages about 23,000 viewers in primetime every night–a far cry from the million or so viewers who watched “Countdown.””
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/08/keith-olbermann-newshow-current-tv-news-officer_n_820198.html
LOL. A great opportunity to “influence” 23,000 viewers.
Are they paying him in Al’s worthless carbon credits?
Keith built a primetime line-up, but can he build a channel? It’ll be interesting to watch, I wish him well, but his accessibility will be limited.
An anagram for Gore + Olbermann is “Globe Near Norm.” It’s a SIGN!
Fine Print:
http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/22/olbermanns-msnbc-exit-was-weeks-in-the-making/
An equity stake is not cash. Sounds like maneuvering involving contract law, he is technically not getting paid therefore he is not technically “working” on television.
Note the following from the “equity stake” link above:
Looks like Keith was getting set up for internet-based relative obscurity. Then Comcast found a way to deflect some criticism, by setting Keith up for relative obscurity at something they had a stake in. It’s a bonus to Comcast if Keith draws in more viewers and the value of their stake rises. If that doesn’t happen, well, it’s not like they were paying him money. Technically Comcast is paying him nothing, as it looks like their 10% stake won’t be going towards whatever equity stake Keith gets. Nor are they at risk for losing anything, as it certainly seems the value of their stake is about as low as it can go.
Moving on….