Al Gore: Keith Olbermann Is Already Bringing New Viewers To Current

With all the talk about what Keith Olbermann’s move to Current TV means for Keith, the bigger question is what it means for Current. If you’re to believe the network’s chairman Al Gore, it means a lot. Gore gave an interview to The Wrap in which he claimed that, ever since yesterday’s announcement, people have already begun looking for the channel.

After talking about Olbermann’s passion and “formidable intelligence,” Gore was asked what impact Olbermann was making on the network’s subscriber numbers.

From The Wrap:

“Do you think he’ll create a groundswell of people asking their cable providers to make Current available to them?

It’s already started. Spontaneously. … Starting yesterday with the announcement, absolutely. You can look on Twitter and find it. It’s not something that — it began spontaneously.

Do you have any sense of the number of people who are reaching out to cable providers or cable providers that are reaching out to you?

This is a spontaneous thing that’s just emerging on its own. It’s a self-organized group and that’s the best kind to have.”

Of course, these comments should be taken with a grain of salt as they were given right before the upfronts with the network trying to sell to advertisers. Still, we wouldn’t be surprised if there’s truth there. We’ve written a lot about how passionate Olbermann’s fan base has gotten recently. While Twitter’s one thing, if Current comes out with specific subscription numbers showing a substantial uptick, it would be undeniable proof of his draw.

As we wait for his new show, we’ll also anxiously await those figures.

(h/t Poynter)