First Bill Simmons, now Keith Olbermann to leave ESPN
It’s been a tough year for outspoken talents at the World Wide Leader.
Two years after returning to ESPN, Keith Olbermann — host of the ESPN2 show Olbermann — will leave the network (again) when his contract expires at the end of July, the company announced Tuesday:
“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.’’
The news, first reported by writer Jim Miller, isn’t exactly surprising.
Deadspinreported July 1 that contract negotiations between the two parties had “almost completely broken down’’ and that there was a “95 percent’’ chance Olbermann would leave.
That came after sources told The Hollywood Reporter that ESPN wanted Olbermann to drop his famous commentaries — a hallmark of Olbermann’s style — from his show. However, ESPN flatly refuted that report.
According to Deadpsin, ESPN executives were particularly uncomfortable with Olbermann’s repeated commentaries ripping NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and former MLB commissioner Bud Selig. Olbermann had also been suspended four days by ESPN in February, after a string of tweets blasting Penn State University.
The news comes exactly two months after ESPN cut ties after 15 years with Grantland editor-in-chief Bill Simmons, who had previously been suspended for his own critcism of Goodell.
ESPN recently came under pressure to cut programming and production costs after it was reported in June that Disney media networks’ operating income had dropped 2 percent.
Olbermann first joined ESPN as a SportsCenter anchor in 1992. He was suspended once for two weeks after making an unauthorized appearance on Comedy Central and eventually left ESPN in 1997.
After 16 years reporting and commentating on politics and current events, Olbermann returned to the network in 2013.
NFL punishments under Roger Goodell:
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