Cenk Uygur To Current TV: Ex-MSNBC Host Brings Web Show To Olbermann's Network

Cenk Uygur Coming To Current TV

Cenk Uygur is headed to Keith Olbermann's house.

Current TV announced Tuesday that Uygur is bringing his Web show "The Young Turks" to its network. The show will air at 7 PM, just before Olbermann's "Countdown."

Uygur had been hosting the 6 PM hour on MSNBC, before his extremely contentious departure from the network in July. Uygur said that he had felt pressure to soften his tone against the Obama administration, something MSNBC denied. He was replaced by Al Sharpton.

The day after he left MSNBC, Uygur appeared on "Countdown." At the same time, he made it clear that he had already started talking to Current about the possibility of hosting a show there. That made Tuesday's announcement something of a foregone conclusion.

In its announcement, Current said that it would be launching an "original television version" of "The Young Turks." The network did not give a start date for the program, saying only that it would air in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Current's chairman (and former vice president) Al Gore praised Uygur, saying that he has a "strong grasp of what audiences seek: context and insight about the news and complex issues that affect their lives, unfettered by corporate influences." The network also released photos of Uygur and Gore together, and Gore tweeted the news on Tuesday morning.

Uygur's arrival to Current gives Olbermann, who runs the news programming for the network, another building block in his mission to turn the channel into a hub for news and current affairs. Olbermann has been clear that he also wants to have a 9 PM news show to follow his.

Watch Uygur talk to Olbermann following his departure from MSNBC in July:

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