MSNBC ends contract with top anchor Olbermann
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LOS ANGELES |
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - U.S. cable news television network MSNBC has ended its contract with its top liberal anchor, Keith Olbermann, the network said on Friday.Olbermann signed off for the last time on his "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" political affairs program on Friday night.
"This is the last edition of "Countdown," Olbermann said on the program.
"MSNBC and Keith Olbermann have ended their contract," the network said in a statement.
His departure came just over two months after MSNBC briefly suspended Olbermann for giving money to three Democratic politicians during the congressional election campaign, including Representative Gabrielle Giffords, who was coincidentally shot and wounded in an assassination attempt on January 8 in Tucson, Arizona.
"MSNBC thanks Keith for his integral role in MSNBC's success and we wish him well in his future endeavors," the network statement said.
Olbermann's program helped define MSNBC as a liberal voice in cable television and a counterpoint to Fox News' largely conservative bent. MSNBC is now second in cable news ratings behind Fox News and ahead of CNN.
In his departing comment to viewers, Olbermann said his show "established its position as anti-establishment."
MSNBC said it would move its relatively new show "The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell" to the 8 p.m. "Countdown" time slot.
Olbermann, an outspoken former sportscaster with ESPN, went to work for MSNBC in 2003. He was the highest-rated host on MSNBC. The New York Times said he signed a $30 million four-year contract extension in 2008.
Comcast Corp earlier this week won approval from the Federal Communications Commission and the U.S. Justice Department for its combination with NBC Universal, the company behind MSNBC.
Once the deal closes, Comcast will acquire a 51 percent stake in NBC Universal from General Electric Co.
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