ESPN today formally announced that “Olbermann,” a nightly talk show hosted by Keith Olbermann, will debut on ESPN2 Aug. 26 at 11:00pm ET. Olbermann’s show will focus on the sports news of the night and will include highlights, commentary and guest contributors. Olbermann has gained notoriety as a political pundit over the past decade, and while ESPN President John Skipper on a conference call said politics will not be a typical discussion topic on the new show, there could be the occasional need to broach the topic. Skipper: “There is no prohibition. If politics happens to intersect with sports … we would expect Keith to have some point of view there.”
Olbermann was a popular “SportsCenter” anchor from '92-97, but abruptly left and moved to a position at Fox Sports. He said the new program gives him a “chance to put a different ending on the story of my relationship with ESPN.” Olbermann: “I know that we can’t go back and undo everything that happened 20 years ago. I don’t want that to be in the obituary. I don’t want that to be the end of the story.” The new show will not impact his duties anchoring MLB postseason coverage for TBS.
