Olbermann

Olbermann
Starring Keith Olbermann
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of episodes 434
Production
Running time

60 minutes (August 26, 2013- September 5, 2014)

30 minutes (September 8, 2014-July 24, 2015)
Production company(s) ESPN
Release
Original network ESPN2
Original release August 26, 2013 (2013-08-26) – July 24, 2015 (2015-07-24)

Olbermann is a television sports talk show hosted by Keith Olbermann on the American cable network ESPN2.[1] The show, broadcast live daily from Times Square Studios in New York City,[2] premiered on August 26, 2013, and featured Olbermann offering commentary and analysis on issues in the sports world.

Olbermann aired at 5:00 PM Eastern on ESPN2 each day. From its premiere until September 5, 2014, Olbermann aired at 11:00 PM Eastern (with some exceptions). The move to the afternoon also saw the show reduced in length by half, airing for thirty minutes instead of sixty.[3] ESPNEWS rebroadcast each episode of Olbermann three times following its initial airing; at 6:30 p.m., 2:00 a.m., and at 5:00 a.m.

On July 10, 2015, two days after ESPN declined to renew his expiring contract, Olbermann announced on air that the series would be coming to an end on July 24.[4] [5] The announcement came after The Hollywood Reporter claimed that ESPN wanted Olbermann to tone down his critical commentary,[6] but the network claimed the move was to cut costs related to Olbermann's salary and the use of the space at Times Square Studios.

Background

Olbermann marked the second tour of duty for Keith Olbermann with the ESPN organization, having served as a popular co-anchor (alongside Dan Patrick) of the main network's SportsCenter between 1992 and 1997; it's also Olbermann's second stint at ESPN's secondary network, ESPN2, where he briefly served as original anchor of the network's SportsNight in 1993-1994. In the decade before Olbermann's debut, Olbermann gained notice as an anchor/commentator on hard news and political discussion, serving as host of Countdown with Keith Olbermann, which aired on MSNBC and, briefly, Current TV.

Since Olbermann's return to the ESPN family was formally announced in July 2013,[1] much mention had been made in media coverage of the anchor's abrasive off-screen demeanor and his acrimonious partings with several of his previous employers, including his 1997 departure from ESPN. Both Olbermann and ESPN executives had reported "no friction" between them in the run-up to Olbermann's debut (ESPN VP/Programming Jamie Horowitz has noted Olbermann's openness to ideas and suggestions for the program);[7] the anchor himself has owned up to his tempestuous past and his efforts to rebuild bridges with his old colleagues.[8] Olbermann had also indicated he is happy returning to covering sports on a regular basis, telling The New York Times, "If you cover politics for eight years without interruption like I did, you need a change."[7]

Format

Each Olbermann episode is formatted the same way (except for the final episode), consisting of the following:

Politics are not entirely off limits on Olbermann; rebuffing a report from The New York Times claiming that he was contractually forbidden from speaking about politics on the show,[11] Olbermann said, "There’s nothing preventing me from doing it other than common sense," although he hinted that some aspects of politics would be covered if it crosses paths with the sports world.[12]

In October 2013 Olbermann adopted a more rigid format. The opening monologue and format rundown switched places, with Olbermann starting the show with the list of topics and introducing the program with "Olbermann is next, by the way, I'm Olbermann." In April 2014, the show again flipped the order of the monologue and the rundown so that the monologue returns to its cold open style and the rundown leads into the first commercial. For the show's finale, Olbermann, instead of opening with a monologue, explained "his crack staff did everything for me today so I don't have to work", which immediately led into first guest Kareem-Abdul Jabbar.

Olbermann usually closes the show in the following manner.

Alright, I've done all the damage I can do here. In New York, Keith Olbermann, ESPN; for (x), (x), and the entire Eyewitness News team, go forth and spread beauty and light.

Olbermann's signoff pays tribute to two people who had an impact on his life. After Chet Curtis, with whom Olbermann had worked at WCVB-TV in Boston when he was briefly the station's sportscaster in 1984, died in January 2014 Olbermann began adding the news close to his signoff and employed names of people featured earlier in the show (although he uses "news" and "Eyewitness News" interchangeably; oddly enough, Olbermann's time as a local sportscaster in Boston and Los Angeles did not see him work for any station using the Eyewitness News branding as WCVB brands its newscasts as NewsCenter, while KTLA had the NewsWatch branding and KCBS was using the Action News format while Olbermann was there).

Olbermann's signoff line is taken from Arthur Naething, an English teacher of Olbermann's at the Hackley School who used to say this to all of his students and who died in October 2014. Previously Olbermann signed off by using Edward R. Murrow's trademark "good night and good luck" signoff, which he had begun to use while at MSNBC, and had recently begun incorporating the phrase "hap'nin" in honor of his schoolmate Chris Berman. After signing off, Olbermann crumples what is left of his notes and tosses them at the camera, with the lens "shattering" for effect. In his final show on 24 July, Olbermann, after a long montage of hilarity and quirks, thanked all of his directors, artists, and colleagues. He then signed off by saying "Bye, Felicia" one last time and threw his signed Abdul-Jabbar basketball toward the camera to close the series.

When Olbermann first made the move to 5:00 PM, it coincided with a move of Outside the Lines to follow it on the schedule and at the end of the show, Olbermann would toss to Bob Ley (or whoever happened to be hosting the show that day) in Bristol and briefly discuss the upcoming half-hour. The tosses were cut out of each subsequent reairing, as Olbermann is followed by SportsCenter after its initial reairing and by Highly Questionable after its overnight reairings.

Former segments

Guest hosts

Guest hosts have occasionally shown up on Olbermann for various reasons. These were initially done out of necessity due to Olbermann's previously announced commitment to anchor Turner Sports' coverage of the Major League Baseball postseason in October 2013.[13] Larry King was the first substitute host,[14] with Colin Cowherd and Jeremy Schaap following him. The format for these shows was largely scrapped, and Cowherd had his own segment at the end of the show where he ranked whether or not a sports figure was having a good day.

In early 2014, Olbermann suffered a bout of shingles and required some intermittent substitutes. The two most frequent were Adnan Virk and Pablo S. Torre, and in the former case (since Virk is a SportsCenter anchor) the "Keith Lights" segments returned. When Torre substituted the shows were more interview driven. In both cases, the program would often be reduced in length to thirty minutes.

Other guest hosts have included Robert Flores, Bram Weinstein, Max Bretos, Jay Harris, Matt Barrie, Ryen Russillo, and Steve Weissman.

Suspension

Olbermann was suspended on February 24, 2015 for a week after he made disparaging comments on Twitter regarding Penn State and Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon, which raises money for pediatric cancer.[15] Adnan Virk and Pablo S. Torre hosted the show in his absence. Olbermann gave an apology for his Twitter comments on his first day back from suspension.[16]

International broadcasts

References

  1. 1 2 "Olbermann Returning to ESPN2 with Daily Late-Night Show Aug. 26". ESPN Media Zone. 2013-07-13. Retrieved 2013-07-20.
  2. "Keith Olbermann Finalizes Deal With ESPN," from Hollywood Reporter, 7/16/2013
  3. "ESPN shifts Olbermann to Permanent Afternoon Time Slot"
  4. "ESPN, Keith Olbermann Part Ways," from Variety, 7/08/2015
  5. https://deadline.com/2015/07/keith-olbermann-espn-out-contract-not-renewed-1201472425/
  6. "Keith OESPN Wants Keith Olbermann to Quit Doing "Commentary"," from Hollywood Reporter, 7/01/2015
  7. 1 2 "Olbermann Set to Return to ESPN and Sports News," from The New York Times, 8/25/2013
  8. "Keith Olbermann Defaces A-Rod; Reveals Apologies, Drama Behind ESPN Return," from Hollywood Reporter, 8/23/2013
  9. "About Toccata and Fugue in D Minor". TripAtlas.com. Retrieved 2010-07-13.
  10. Lewis, Ryan (24 June 2015). "Indians manager Terry Francona and Outshine Fruit Grape Bars: A true love story". Akron Beacon-Journal. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  11. Miller, James Andrew (2013-07-17). "Olbermann Will Return to ESPN". New York Times. Retrieved 2013-07-20.
  12. Pierce, Scott D. (July 25, 2013), "Keith Olbermann promises no politics on his new ESPN2 show", The Salt Lake Tribune, archived from the original on July 29, 2013, retrieved July 29, 2013
  13. "Keith Olbermann Returning To TV On Turner," from The Hollywood Reporter, 6/5/2013
  14. "Larry King to Guest-Host 'Olbermann,'" from The Hollywood Reporter, 9/26/2013
  15. "ESPN Statement on Keith Olbermann's Penn State Tweets" from "ESPN", 2/24/2015
  16. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPzaUHRX7_Y
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