Well, we knew from Twitter there was an announcement coming tomorrow. But like all announcements these days, there seems to be a leak beforehand.
According to the NY Times, Keith Olbermann is headed to Current TV.
A little more after the jump:
This seems to be more than him just getting a show, but a significant change in many ways, as the article says that Keith will be getting an ownership stake in the channel. That is a huge piece of good news.
The down side of course, is how many people see Current.
It is on about 60 million cable boxes out there, MSNBC is on over 95 million. Current is usually not part of the most basic cable package whereas MSNBC is.
For instance, I have Verizon Fios, I get both channel. Current is on channel 192, standard definition. MSNBC is on channel 103 (SD) and 603 (HD), surrounding by all the other news and info channels. Current is surrounded by, Comedy Central,G4,Chiller, TV Guide Network,E! Entertainment Television.
Now maybe with Keith on the air there, and who knows... could David Schuster be part of the plan as well, maybe Current would see itself be moved to a spot with other news channels.
One thing is for sure, Current TV is changing. The independent YouTube style videos didn't work.
Maybe we really will get that left of center/progressive television station without corporate interference.
Now all we need are lots and lots of viewers.
Short Update: I added a link at the top to Current's website as some people haven't heard of it.
Also, while Keith's departure agreement with MSNBC bars him from another tv show for a certain period of time, it didn't bar him from radio or online. It wouldn't surprise me to see him do an online only show until that on air prohibition is over. On the other hand, as a comment below says, maybe Comcast wants him on Current- they own 10%- and redid his agreement which was done before they took control of NBC Universal.
And finally, thanks for the quick trip to the rec list. :)