 MSNBC is
putting all its faith in Keith Olbermann, who has reupped in a deal that
will give the "Countdown" host additional air time on NBC's "Nightly
News" and will make him one of cable's highest-paid news personalities.
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- Four-year deal, worth as much as $4 million per year
with incentives, keeps Olbermann as host of "Countdown With Keith
Olbermann," MSNBC's highest-rated show, but adds two primetime specials
per year as well as periodic commentaries on NBC's "Nightly News."
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- Talks to retain MSNBC's first breakout personality took
on additional urgency over the last few months. Olbermann has a history
of jumping around, from ESPN to MSNBC to Fox Sports, CNN and back to MSNBC,
and the addition of network air time was a key aspect of the deal.
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- Like the signing of Tiki Barber earlier this week, the
deal was negotiated at the highest levels of NBC Universal.
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- "Right up to Jeff Zucker they presented everything
I could have asked for in terms of opportunities," Olbermann said.
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- Olbermann developed a following over the past year as
a harsh critic of the Bush Administration, especially the conduct of the
war in Iraq.
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- "Countdown With Keith Olbermann" is MSNBC's
only primetime show that's ahead of its CNN counterpart in the ratings.
It averaged 706,000 viewers in January, up 82% from last year.
- In the 8 p.m. slot, the left-leaning show serves as a
political counterpoint to Fox News Channel's highest-rated show, "The
O'Reilly Factor," which averaged nearly 2.5 million viewers in January,
up 5% increase from a year earlier.
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- Asked if he thought that Olbermann's reputation as a
liberal firebrand would hurt "Nightly News," NBC News prexy Steve
Capus said, "I believe the viewers are sophisticated enough to know
what messages are being offered to them."
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- Capus said Olbermann's contribution to "Nightly
News" will be in the form of "produced essays" in the vein
of what he did on the death of Pope John Paul II and during his coverage
of the aftermath of Sept. 11, which won an Edward R. Murrow Award.
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- "He knows where to draw the line," Capus said.
"When he does commentaries on his own broadcast, they are clearly
labeled as such. This is a network that also employs (conservatives) Tucker
Carlson and Joe Scarborough. It's the full spectrum of views."
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- Olbermann said the details of the relationship with "Nightly
News" are still being hammered out but that he expects to contribute
essays about once a month.
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- The "Nightly News" element of Olbermann's deal
represents one of an increasing number of synergies between MSNBC and NBC
News. Soon cabler and broadcaster will share space at NBC News headquarters
at 30 Rock. MSNBC's current HQ in Secaucus, N.J., is being shuttered this
year in a cost-cutting move.
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- Olbermann's deal puts him among the highest-paid personalities
in cable news, a list that includes Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, Anderson
Cooper, Larry King and Chris Matthews.
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