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Four More Years: Keith Olbermann Re-Ups With MSNBC

Glynnis MacNicol |  Posted Thursday February 15, 2007 at 05:46 PM

It's official: Keith Olbermann has re-upped with MSNBC for another four years at a rumored $4 million+ salary, according to Broadcasting & Cable. His current contract is generally believed to be in the neighborhood of $1 million.

The MSNBC-Olbermann contract negotiations came to attention in December 2006 in an LAT profile of Olbermann by Matea Gold, where Olbermann characterized his relationship with MSNBC as "they leave me alone, I leave them alone" (and echoed a few weeks later in an interview with Radar's Tyler Gray in which he implied that MSNBC GM Dan Abrams had little authority over him or his show). Olbermann was also rumored to have received "offers" from CNN.

Whatever rockiness may have been occurring on the inside, Olbermann and MSNBC were all smiles today during a conference call press conference between Olbermann and NBC News chief Steve Capus. Capus called "Countown" "the centerpiece for the resurgence and the real growth at MSNBC" and called it "a good day for MSNBC and a good day for NBC News." Olbermann agreed, saying that he had never seriously entertained going elsewhere and noting that, for its part, the network had made it clear that they wanted him to stay, with dialogue opened up the chain of command "right up to Jeff Zucker."

In January, "Countdown" had 715,500 total viewers and 283,000 viewers in the key 25-54 demo, up 85% and 89% respectively from the previous year. The spike in "Countdown" viewers is widely held to have been a contributing factor to MSNBC's growth this year, with spillover effects buoying other shows on the network.

Last month, Anderson Cooper re-signed with CNN for a multi-year deal, also for a salary said to be in the $4 million range. Though there was speculation that Cooper was being wooed by CBS for its "Early Show," negotiations with CNN played out privately.

For more details, see the press release here.

Related:
Keith Olbermann, Talkin' Tough During Contract Negotiations With MSNBC [ETP]
Fightin' Words From Keith Olbermann With Diss On Bossman Abrams [ETP]

— with Rachel Sklar