Turner Sports today announced that Keith Olbermann will anchor TBS’ MLB postseason studio coverage alongside analyst Dennis Eckersley. The deal brings Olbermann’s career full circle, as he started his TV broadcast career on a local Turner affiliate. It also marks the baseball enthusiast’s third foray into broadcasting the MLB postseason on a different network, following stints as a studio host for both NBC’s and Fox’ postseason coverage. Turner President of Sales, Distribution & Sports David Levy said of Olbermann, “He has great appreciation for the history of baseball. When you combine that with his studio experience, insights and enthusiasm for the sport, he will be a strong addition.” Turner in the past year has branched into the sports realm with a show hosted by Rachel Nichols. But Levy said Olbermann’s appointment is purely about the MLB postseason. “Let me make this perfectly clear, this is a Turner Sports arrangement with Keith and we’re extremely happy to have him. This has nothing to do with CNN, this is not a start to one thing to lead to another. This is about postseason baseball and doing what Keith does best.” Olbermann’s career has drifted from sports to politics and back again numerous times. But Olbermann stressed he is focused on the task at hand. Olbermann: “This is it. I have been so bad at predicting my career future -- as everybody else has -- it would be useless to make any predictions at this point.” When asked about failed relationships with his past employers, Olbermann quipped, “The safety valve here is that my season is about a month long. If you go through the 37 pages of my resume, you will notice that every one of my jobs has lasted at least one month.”
DARLING STICKING AROUND: Turner today also announced it has reached a long-term extension with Ron Darling, who will continue to serve as an analyst for a portion of the net’s “Sunday MLB on TBS.” In addition, the company announced its broadcast pairings for its postseason coverage. Cal Ripken Jr. will transition from the studio to the broadcast booth full time, serving alongside Darling and Ernie Johnson. Brian Anderson and John Smoltz will make up a second broadcast team.
