The cable network announced Wednesday that it’s canceling the “Olbermann” show by the end of the month.
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“Olbermann“, which aired on ESPN 2, premiered in 2013.
Olbermann’s program, which is simply titled Olbermann and runs on ESPN2, is expected to wrap up sometime this month, the company said.
“We wish Keith nothing but the best and trust that his skill and ability will lead him to another promising endeavor”, ESPN said in a statement.
The 56-year-old Olbermann was a “SportsCenter” anchor on ESPN from 1992-97. Though he returned quickly, Olbermann chose to leave for Current TV, a progressive news network aimed at younger viewers.
Mr. Olbermann’s imminent departure from ESPN is only the latest upheaval in a broadcast career that has been, in equal measures, brilliant and erratic.
The news was first reported via Twitter by Jim Miller, co-author of the definitive ESPN oral history “Those Guys Have All The Fun”. He even co-anchored election coverage for the network, sparking criticism that he and others at MSNBC were too partisan for mainstream news events.
Last fall, during the height of the Ray Rice debacle, Mr. Olbermann characterized the commish as an “enabler of men who beat women” before going on to charge Mr. Goodell with covering up the running back’s brutal February 15, 2014 assault on his then-fiancée. He was sacked just one year into a five-year-long contract worth a total of $50 million.
Some of his commentaries about the National Football League and its commissioner Roger Goddell were scathing, and especially unusual given that the National Football League is a major business partner of ESPN’s.
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The news was confirmed in an official statement released by ESPN.
