Keith Olbermann, NBC and political football |
San Jose Mercury News - CA, USA - In April, NBC announced that Keith Olbermann would cozy up to the fireplace with Bob Costas, Peter King, Tiki Barber and Jerome Bettis — and thankfully NOT Sterling Sharpe — for “Football Night in America.” On a conference call then, I asked if it would be an odd fit given his standing on the political left and the NFL’s embrace of the military and White House.
“If you are thinking that this is going to be some sort of venue for promoting or criticizing a political viewpoint, I don’t see it happening,” he said then.
On Monday, NBC announced that “Countdown with Keith Olbermann” will venture away from its normal MSNBC perch to the network for a special edition Sunday — 4 p.m. Pacific time, as the lead-in to the Eagles-Steelers exhibition game.
It’s not a special football edition; it’s the politics-heavy show, coming on before a football game and featuring a guy who’s going to be talking football in that time slot for the next four months.
Doesn’t bother me personally — I watch the show as much as I watch any of the other political shows. And I’m not naive enough to think there wouldn’t be some cross-promotion. But this sure does seem like they’re crossing the streams, which “Ghostbusters” showed us is bad bad bad.
Also, I’d guess any poll of the NFL’s Sunday night audience would find it tilted pretty heavily to the right politically. There have been promises all around, and there will continue to be, that one Olbermann role doesn’t affect the other. But I don’t know how that’s possible in today’s YouTube world, where every clip lives forever.
Should be interesting when discussion comes up about the Saints and Katrina/Pat Tillman/any administration official who happens by a Redskins game. Might we be able to actually hear Olbermann biting his lip? Or are they just going for the Howard Cosell, love-him-or-hate-him-but-really-just-hate-him vibe?
On the other hand, the presidential race has started earlier than ever, and if Olbermann and Al Michaels engage in subtle back-and-forth, that would be pretty entertaining.
“If you are thinking that this is going to be some sort of venue for promoting or criticizing a political viewpoint, I don’t see it happening,” he said then.
On Monday, NBC announced that “Countdown with Keith Olbermann” will venture away from its normal MSNBC perch to the network for a special edition Sunday — 4 p.m. Pacific time, as the lead-in to the Eagles-Steelers exhibition game.
It’s not a special football edition; it’s the politics-heavy show, coming on before a football game and featuring a guy who’s going to be talking football in that time slot for the next four months.
Doesn’t bother me personally — I watch the show as much as I watch any of the other political shows. And I’m not naive enough to think there wouldn’t be some cross-promotion. But this sure does seem like they’re crossing the streams, which “Ghostbusters” showed us is bad bad bad.
Also, I’d guess any poll of the NFL’s Sunday night audience would find it tilted pretty heavily to the right politically. There have been promises all around, and there will continue to be, that one Olbermann role doesn’t affect the other. But I don’t know how that’s possible in today’s YouTube world, where every clip lives forever.
Should be interesting when discussion comes up about the Saints and Katrina/Pat Tillman/any administration official who happens by a Redskins game. Might we be able to actually hear Olbermann biting his lip? Or are they just going for the Howard Cosell, love-him-or-hate-him-but-really-just-hate-him vibe?
On the other hand, the presidential race has started earlier than ever, and if Olbermann and Al Michaels engage in subtle back-and-forth, that would be pretty entertaining.
Categories : Talk Show Hosts, Political Commentators, TV Personalities
Posted 8/21/2007 12:08:54 PM | Permalink
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