Keith Olbermann To CNN: 'You're Welcome' For High Ratings

Keith Olbermann appeared to take some credit for CNN's recent ratings success on Monday.

After a CNN spokesperson posted a tweet on Monday highlighting the network's high ratings (noting that they were "up 57% from the second half of 2010 + 46% compared to 2010 as a whole"), Olbermann tweeted back, "you're welcome," seemingly suggesting that it was his absence from the cable airwaves that caused CNN's ratings surge.

Olbermann has been off the air since mid-January (he'll return in late spring with his Current TV show). Since then, Rachel Maddow has taken Olbermann's place as MSNBC's top-rated host, while his timeslot replacement, Lawrence O'Donnell, has gotten slightly lower ratings than Olbermann did.

Of course, proving Olbermann's theory (if he's serious) would require all sorts of double-blind experiments and grave lengthy tests. What is definitely true is that the network has often surged past MSNBC, as it rides a wave of breaking news. Last Friday, for instance, CNN beat MSNBC in the key A25-54 demo for the second day in a row, drawing 366,000 viewers to MSNBC's 320,000. (Fox News came in first, with 614,000.)