He’s back.
Three months after abruptly resigning from his MSNBC program, Keith Olbermann announced in a video posted to his website Tuesday morning that he will debut a new cable news program in June on Current TV.
“I wanted to go somewhere that I could expand upon and enlarge upon the work I’d already done,” Olbermann said, “a place where journalistic integrity and analytical honesty would never be compromised by corporate synergy.”
“And now I can tell you, we are ready to go,” he added.
Saying that, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” Olbermann said that the new show will have the same name as his former program, Countdown With Keith Olbermann.
Olbermann’s sudden departure from MSNBC in late January capped what had become a tumultuous relationship with the network. In November, Olbermann was suspended, albeit very briefly, for breaking company policy on political contributions. Then in January, Comcast and NBC completed a mega-merger deal — which was approved by the FCC just days before Olbermann quit — prompting speculation that that deal convinced Olbermann to leave over concerns that the new management would keep him on an even shorter leash.
In his video announcement on Tuesday, Olbermann alluded to the strictures of hosting a show on a major network, saying that he was “delightfully startled at the free hand” he’d been given by Current TV, the cable network co-founded by former Vice President Al Gore.
The program’s will premiere on Monday, June 20, at 8 PM.
Watch Olbermann’s announcement below:
