CurrentTV Fires Keith Olbermann
This just in: CurrentTV fired Keith Olbermann. The station will not even let Olbermann appear on his show tonight to sign off. Instead, Elliot Spitzer will take his place.
CurrentTV said that Olbermann failed to honor the terms of his contract.
According to many sources, Olbermann's salary was $10 million a year. Meanwhile, his show was only getting about 50,000 viewers per night.
In contrast, according to Newsweek, Bill O'Reilly makes about $20 million a year (not counting outside salary such as books and speeches). The viewership for his show is about 3 million per night, and it is 5 million if you count the two times it is re-broadcast each night. (However, Fox plans to discontinue one of the re-broadcasts and instead begin Fox & Friends an hour earlier.)
This means that Olbermann's viewer-per-salary-dollar was about fifty times that of Bill O'Reilly. I suspect that Joel Hyatt, who used to teach at Stanford Business School (while I taught there), realized that Olbermann was not a good investment. He and co-founder Al Gore were probably looking for a reason to fire Olbermann, regardless how well Olbermann fulfilled the letter of his contract.
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Mar '12
Re: CurrentTV Fires Keith Olbermann
So this man seems to burn every bridge, annoy and embarass every employer, turn away viewers, and dishonor contracts he's signed. Any guess where he will end up next?
Apr '11
Re: CurrentTV Fires Keith Olbermann
Elected office?
Jul '10
Re: CurrentTV Fires Keith Olbermann
The sad thing about Olbermann is, before he went bat crap crazy, he used to be pretty funny hosting Sportscenter on ESPN with Dan Patrick.
May '10
Re: CurrentTV Fires Keith Olbermann
We've been gloating for two hours over on the member feed...
Re: CurrentTV Fires Keith Olbermann
Eliot Spitzer? Why? Was Al Sharpton busy?
Apr '11
Re: CurrentTV Fires Keith Olbermann
Nick at Nite?
Sep '10
Re: CurrentTV Fires Keith Olbermann
"Any guess where he will end up next?"
I'm thinking COPS.
Edited on March 31, 2012 at 7:25amJul '10
Re: CurrentTV Fires Keith Olbermann
Is Al Gore's business acumen awesome or what?
Aug '11
Re: CurrentTV Fires Keith Olbermann
The White House Communications Director?
May '11
Re: CurrentTV Fires Keith Olbermann
I am not upset about this at all. Olbermann adds nothing to the debate other than vitriol and bile. One of the worst parts of his act was the Worst Person in the World segment he did regularly, which for some reason never included himself.
Edited on March 31, 2012 at 5:55amAug '10
Re: CurrentTV Fires Keith Olbermann
What.
Aug '10
Re: CurrentTV Fires Keith Olbermann
Tim Groseclose
According to many sources, Olbermann's salary was $10 million a year. Meanwhile, his show was only getting about 50,000 viewers per night.
In contrast, according to Newsweek, Bill O'Reilly makes about $20 million a year. The viewership for his show is about 3 million per night, and it is 5 million if you count the two times it is re-broadcast each night.
This means that Olbermann's viewer-per-salary-dollar was about fifty times that of Bill O'Reilly. I suspect that Joel Hyatt, who used to teach at Stanford Business School (while I taught there), realized that Olbermann was not a good investment.
I've never watched anything on CurrentTV, or even watched Olberman for more than the time it takes to flip the channel past MSNBC, but in all fairness, it's probably not entirely his fault. Does anyone watch anything on that channel? How many people are even aware it exists?
Mar '11
Re: CurrentTV Fires Keith Olbermann
Dancing With the Stars. Either that or Celebrity Apprentice. Oooh...that would be perfect. Trump firing Olby.
Aug '11
Re: CurrentTV Fires Keith Olbermann
You made my day. Celebrity Apprentice would be awesome for Olby.
Mar '11
Re: CurrentTV Fires Keith Olbermann
His next few jobs:
Dirty Jobs
Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?
Ax Men
Biggest Loser
Bridezillas (as the bride of course)
Celebrity Rehab
Deadliest Catch (Anchorman Edition)
I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! (shame if he got lost in the jungle)
Mythbusters (investigating the myth of his charm)
Mall Cops: Mall of America
and of course: Jersey Shore
Re: CurrentTV Fires Keith Olbermann
Please, Ricocheters, show some humanity. It's easy to kick a man when he's down. Which I why I want to report that three additional cable networks have announced they are also firing him, just to save time and money.
(By the way, I, too, was a big fan of Keith's in his early sports days, both locally and at ESPN.)
Jan '11
Re: CurrentTV Fires Keith Olbermann
Hey, just because it's easy doesn't mean we shouldn't do it.
Sep '10
Re: CurrentTV Fires Keith Olbermann
In the spirit of Andrew Breitbart, I'd like to suggest a T-Shirt:
"We've all fired Olbermann, now" perhaps with a picture of Keith's head and Donald Trump's enraged ferret hair do.
Sep '10
Re: CurrentTV Fires Keith Olbermann
So this man seems to burn every bridge, annoy and embarass every employer, turn away viewers, and dishonor contracts he's signed. Any guess where he will end up next?
Sounds like an Obama cabinet czar in the making.
Mar '11
Re: CurrentTV Fires Keith Olbermann
Pseudodionysius: In the spirit of Andrew Breitbart, I'd like to suggest a T-Shirt:
"We've all fired Olbermann, now" perhaps with a picture of Keith's head and Donald Trump's enraged ferret hair do. · 37 minutes ago
Make it a two-fer. A HOODIE and a pair of horn-rim specs.