The once unlikely return of Keith Olbermann to ESPN is nearly complete, according to reports.
ESPN is expected to announce within days that Keith Olbermann has rejoined the network as a late night talk show host on ESPN2, Variety reported Tuesday. The news came just days after The New York Daily News first broached the possibility of Olbermann hosting a late night show on the network, and months after The Big Lead reported that ESPN had interest in acquiring his services.
Olbermann was a “SportsCenter” anchor from 1992-97, a tenure marked by the kind of behind-the-scenes acrimony that would later follow him to other stops. After leaving ESPN, he hosted MLB studio coverage on Fox Sports and was a co-anchor on NBC’s “Football Night in America” NFL studio show.
He also spent several years in cable news.
Since leaving Current TV last year, Olbermann has pursued a return to sports broadcasting. He will serve as the studio host for Turner Sports’ coverage of the MLB postseason this year, and potentially in 2014 as well.
It is not clear how Olbermann would balance nightly MLB playoff coverage on TBS with a late night talk show on ESPN2.
Even with periodic rumblings over the years, it seemed more likely that Olbermann would join forces with Fox News Channel before he would return to ESPN. However, the relationship between Olbermann and ESPN has thawed somewhat over the years. In a 2002 Salon article, Olbermann penned a mea culpa for his actions as an ESPN employee. He later co-hosted “The Dan Patrick Show” on ESPN Radio until Patrick left ESPN in 2007, and earlier this year, he was featured in an ESPN “30 For 30” short about a Honus Wagner baseball card.
(Tue. news from Variety)
