What’s next for Keith Olbermann? With the Countdown over for the controversial host’s tenure at MSNBC, the Hollywood Reporter lists 10 things the Olber man should consider next. Possible new homes for a new Olbermann show, according to THR’s Tim Goodman, include his arch-enemy Fox News, ESPN (where he’d go back to his sportscasting roots), PBS, Britain (where it’s suggested he could do a Letter from America-type show), OWN (Oprah Winfrey’s new network), Comedy Central and HBO or Showtime. Other THR suggestions include creating his own cable channel geared toward the left and retiring.
1. Fox News is ridiculous considering the vehemence in which both sides went at each other over the years. A sudden partnership would only make both sides seem opportunistic and hypocritical. A move to CNN or HLN (the former Headline News) seems far more likely.
2. ESPN, like Fox, is also unlikely. After having become such a high-profile political commentator, I doubt Olbermann would want to return to the sports arena. I also doubt the network would want him.
3. Hosting a British show I guess is a possibility but probably an unlikely one.
4. PBS is a possibility (especially if they lose federal funding) but, even then, his angry persona is probably not what the staid network would be looking for. A radio show on NPR seems more likely — or perhaps a syndicated radio show to compete directly with the likes of Rush Limbaugh.
5. OWN would also seem an unlikely next step since the big O there is Oprah and her brand is positive, generally non-political and, in any event, non-angry programming. Not a good fit.
6. Comedy Central also seems an unlikely fit. Though Olbermann does seem to be under the impression that he’s funny (and to be fair his fans seem to agree), the home of The Daily Show and Colbert Report isn’t looking for more programming in the same vein — which is probably why the new Onion News Network show ended up on IFC. And, besides, Daily Show host Jon Stewart’s skewering of Olbermann-type commentary on both sides of the political spectrum also would seem to work against the possibility.
7 & 8. HBO or Showtime. Getting warmer. a half-hour Olbermann show could be paired with Bill Maher’s equally-nasty Real Time for an hour of lefty sanctimony that would drive the right nuts. On the other hand, he could be Showtime’s answer to Maher.
9. The suggestion that he build his own cable channel suggests that the Olbermann brand is in the Oprah league. I don’t think so.
10. Finally, regarding the idea that he retire, he could, I suppose, take his millions from MSNBC (he reportedly had two years left on $7-million-a-year contract) and enjoy the good life. My guess is his ego won’t let him do that. It is possible, though, that his exit deal with the network has a non-compete clause which could keep him off the air, at least for a while. (BTW, it seems unclear if Olbermann was fired or quit but if he is paid the remainder of his contract and/or is quickly allowed to compete on other networks, wouldn’t that be an indication that he was fired?) I suspect that if Keith isn’t on the air soon, we may see him entering politics. Yikes! Suddenly I hope he gets a new show.
More advertisers drop out of Skins. You can add GM and Wrigley to the list of advertisers shedding their links to MTV’s Skins. They follow Taco Bell in distancing themselves from the show that may actually violate child pornography laws. Meanwhile, H&R Block wants it known that, even though one of its spots aired during an early episode, it never chose to advertise on the show.. “One ad,” the company says, “ran by mistake as part of a rotation. Once we learned this, we immediately took steps to ensure it didn’t happen again.” MTV may be losing its shirt on Skins.
Raunchy vs. Nasty. While emceeing the Producers Guild Awards, host Judd Apatow (whose movies include The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up) took on Ricky Gervais over his line-crossing jokes while hosting the recent Golden Globes. Gervais’ jabs were hardly the end of the world — and Hollywoodites are the last group that should complain about being offended by comedy — but, overall, I side with Apatow. Just because the industry does more than it’s share of needlessly insulting other people doesn’t make it right. You can be funny without being mean. Apatow is an example of that. While his movies are a bit raunchy for my personal taste, they, are usually funny and tend to have a surprisingly kind tone at their core.
BTW, the PGA trophy for Best Film went to The King’s Speech. An excellent choice.
DirecTV passes on The Kennedys. The outlet joins Showtime, Starz and FX in rejecting the controversial miniseries about America’s most prominent liberal Catholic family. The show, from conservative producer Joel Surnow (24) was originally set to run on The History Channel but was abruptly pulled from its schedule under apparent pressure from the Kennedy family. , The History Channel is a subsidiary of AETN, the media consortium that includes Hearst, Disney-ABC and NBC-Universal, making it unlikely that the film will turn up on any network owned by any of those partners.
Anti-social networking? Alone Together,
a new book by MIT professor Sherry Turkle, suggests that Twitter and
Facebook aren’t connecting us to each other as much as they’re isolating
us from each other. She’s not alone in her concern.
Quote of the Day: “I think part of the reason why the American people have
lost some of our characteristic confidence in recent years is
not just the terrible recession, but the fact that, when they
turned to their government in Washington, what they saw is
people having partisan mud fights, not thinking about what they
could do for them, the American people.” – Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-CT)
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