Keith Olbermann OUT At ESPN...Again

Keith Olbermann

Keith Olbermann, who rejoined the sports network in August 2013, won't be renewing his deal to anchor his ESPN2 program.

The news follows a THR report on July 1, noting that ESPN management floated an ultimately unworkable caveat: that Olbermann cease engaging in commentary.

"Keith is a tremendous talent who has consistently done timely, entertaining and thought-provoking work since returning to ESPN," the network said in a statement.

"While the show’s content was distinctive and extremely high quality, we ultimately made a business decision to move in another direction. We wish Keith nothing but the best and trust that his skill and ability will lead him to another promising endeavor.”

Network executives also floated the idea of having Olbermann take his show to the network's headquarters in Bristol or to the Los Angeles facility rather than the ABC News Times Square studio in New York that ESPN leases for Olbermann - a move that would save ESPN $40 million at a time when the sports leader is feeling a financial pinch from its Disney corporate parents.

ESPN president John Skipper has been given a mandate to cut $100 million from the network's budget next year and $250 million in 2017.

ESPN also has officially abandoned a previously announced plan to have the ESPN radio program Mike & Mike move to the same New York studio where Olbermann is produced.

Olbermann's exit will follow that of Bill Simmons, who left the network in May after Skipper declined to offer him an extension on his $5 million annual contract.

Looking back over his history:

• Olbermann was forced out from his first gig at ESPN in 1997 after he made disparaging remarks about the network. 
• He was pushed out of MSNBC in 2010 after it was revealed that he'd made donations to political campaigns. 
• He was fired from Current TV in 2012 for what the network called "breaches of his contract, including the failure to show up at work, sabotaging the network and attack Current and its executives."