MSNBC considered bringing back former political commentator Keith Olbermann to replace Rachel Maddow on the news network, according to a report.
NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell and NBCUniversal News Group Chairman Cesar Conde were in talks with Olbermann about returning to the network, Olbermann told Source Material, a newsletter for the Daily Beast. But those discussions were put to an end with Maddow opposing the idea.
“I offered to have her production company ‘produce’ the show,” Olbermann said. “Would give her proxy control and a f***ton of money, but she and Phil Griffin refused,” he said, referring to the former president of MSNBC and consultant for Maddow’s production company.
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“I do not expect to continue negotiations with the successors to this management team,” Olbermann said. “Management is worse than asleep at the switch.”
The Washington Examiner reached out to MSNBC for comment but did not receive a response back.
Maddow announced in January a hiatus from her nightly show on MSNBC, targeting a return sometime in April. “There may eventually be another hiatus again sometime in my future, but for now, we are just taking it one step at a time,” Maddow said at the time.
Prior to the announcement, Maddow reached a $30 million-per-year deal with MSNBC in order to remain with the network even as she prepared to break away from hosting The Rachel Maddow Show, the left-leaning network’s top-rated show, in the 9 p.m. time slot.
Olbermann was suspended from MSNBC in November 2010 after Griffin, the network’s president at the time, said he became aware of Olbermann’s political donations in violation of NBC’s ethics policy.
“I did not privately or publicly encourage anyone else to donate to these campaigns nor to any others in this election or any previous ones, nor have I previously donated to any political campaign at any level,” Olbermann said in a statement at the time.
He left the network and his Countdown show of several years in January 2011. Olbermann has also had stints at ESPN, CNN, and Fox Sports.
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White House press secretary Jen Psaki has been rumored to be a top contender to replace Maddow after announcing that she will be leaving her position at some point in 2022 when it’s “time for somebody else” to take over.
