Earlier, Howard Kurtz tweeted that he was “Hearing allegation that Olbermann switched car co’s and vendors because Current didn’t pay the bills,” which Olbermann retweeted, but our source says that is not true, that Kurtz has been contacted about the item, and that no one else at Current has had this issue.
The network fired Olbermann for what it says is breach of contract, citing unauthorized absences from work, failure to promote the network, and disparagement of the company and its executives.
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But according to our source, Olbermann’s set, which was designed by production designer Jim Fengagen and cost about a quarter of a million dollars, was built to Olbermann’s specifications. When the set experienced some lighting problems in December, however, Olbermann not only refused to use the set, he ordered his crew not to use it even for guest hosts.
While Olbermann is threatening legal action, and I’m no lawyer, it’s tough to see how he has anything more than a balsawood leg to stand on, at least where his central complaint is concerned. Even the most casual observer, when faced with his gripe that the network wasn’t spreading the cheddar around, would have to say “What did you expect?”
Olbermann went into this knowing that Current was pushing all of its chips (literally and figuratively) in on him, and that there would be some lean times for the network (not for Olbermann, who reportedly received about $50k per show) while they built their schedule, and their audience. Olbermann even acknowledged as much on a press call hyping the re-launch of Countdown, discussing the ways in which the network would work around its lack of resources
In addition to hissy fits about the car service and the set, the network says Olbermann refused to promote the network. According to our source, that included not allowing Current to promote the show when he was absent (almost half the time in January and February), the guest host or the program, including barring staff from sending out Twitter updates, and not allowing the guest host to promote the program.
They also say he refused to be in promotional material that included either Cenk Uygur or former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, or their shows, and wouldn’t mention either of them on his own show. Behind the scenes, network executives have praised the surprising ratings success of Countdown’s lead-in and lead-out programs, which at the time, sources said, didn’t necessarily sit well with Olbermann. If he felt threatened by these successes, he may have been right: Days before he was fired, Current learned that The Young Turks has been beating him in the key 25-54 demographic, while execs have been citing strong audience retention by Granholm and Keith’s fill-ins.
Olbermann plans to counter Current&
That same question can be said of Current, but given the performance of Olbermann’s stablemates of late, they’re no worse off without him, and a good deal more flush.