Keith Olbermann will have a new hour-long show on ESPN2 starting August 26.
"Apart from the opportunity to try to create a nightly hour of sports television that no fan can afford to miss, I’m overwhelmed by the chance to begin anew with ESPN," he said in a statement announcing the deal on Wednesday, adding, "I'm grateful to friends and bosses – old and new – who have permitted that opportunity to come to pass. I’m not going to waste it."
The show, entitled "Olbermann," will air weeknights at 11 p.m. on ESPN2. It "will focus on the day’s relevant sports topics through a mix of perspective and commentary, interviews, contributors, panel discussions and highlights," according to ESPN.
Olbermann parted ways with the network on poor terms in 1997. TV Newser reported that in a conference call on Wednesday, both he and ESPN president John Skipper addressed the stormy part of his relationship with the network.
“I don’t want that to be in the obituary. I don’t want that to be the end of the story,” said Olbermann, who insisted that he fully intends "to make amends."
“It is as much about what Keith is going to do than it is about what people at ESPN have in their memories or previous experiences,” Skipper said. “Keith is committed to working through that, and I am in support of that.”
On Wednesday morning, the New York Times reported on the anticipated announcement and said that Olbermann's contract allows him to discuss other topics besides sports, but bars him from talking about politics.
The deal comes over a year after Olbermann was fired from Current TV. He has since signed on to host TBS' studio coverage of Major League Baseball's post-season, which was slated to begin this fall. The television host has a trail of contentious relationships with his previous employers, including MSNBC and Fox.
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