ESPN has denied making any attempt to quiet Keith Olbermann‘s commentary.
In a statement Wednesday, ESPN flatly denied that it has asked Olbermann to stop issuing periodic commentaries on his eponymous ESPN2 talk show. The statement was in response to a report in The Hollywood Reporter that ESPN has made ending the commentaries a condition of contract negotiations between the parties.
Olbermann’s contract expires in August, two years after he rejoined ESPN. According to both The Hollywood Reporter and The Big Lead, negotiations have not gone well. The latter publication cited a source as saying that there is “a 90% chance” Olbermann will not return to the network.
While Olbermann’s return to ESPN was a splashy move — one intended to blunt the impact of the new Fox Sports Live on Fox Sports 1 — his show has had a lower profile in recent months. Last year, it moved from 11 PM ET to 5 PM and was cut by a half-hour in the process.
ESPN is widely perceived as having a conflict of interest when it comes to the NFL, the primary target of Olbermann’s commentaries. The NFL has in the past appeared to influence ESPN programming decisions, such as the cancellation of the soap opera Playmakers in 2003 or the removal of ESPN branding from the documentary League of Denial in 2013.
With that said, the network employs several journalists and broadcasters who have been heavily critical of the league in the past year, and outside of suspending Bill Simmons — in an incident where he actively dared his bosses to do so — has not taken any action against said personnel.
(Wed. news from twitter.com/espnpr, Hollywood Reporter, The Big Lead)
