Keith Olbermann To Launch Podcast

Keith Olbermann is launching a daily podcast next month in partnership with iHeartMedia Inc. that the outspoken commentator said he hopes will bring a sense of timeliness and urgency to the medium, reports The Wall Street Journal.

Making its debut Aug. 1, “Countdown with Keith Olbermann” will be a mix of Mr. Olbermann’s political and sports takes. An avowed liberal, Olbermann previously hosted shows on MSNBC and the now defunct Current TV as well as multiple stints at ESPN, where he first rose to prominence.

In an interview, Olbermann said he initially was reluctant about the genre as he said he felt too many shows seemed like one podcast host interviewing another and the material often felt outdated.

“People do these podcasts with the idea that they have to live for a week,” he said. That didn’t sit well with his news-chasing mentality. “This has replaced radio and to a large part television. Why not present something that is there every day for people? My goal is that you’ll be able to listen to this thing and get everything that happened. It won’t be, ‘here we are reacting to last week’s news,’ ” he said.

To be sure, there are many daily podcasts that focus on news and politics, such as the New York Times’s “The Daily,” National Public Radio’s “NPR News Now” and “The Journal.”—a co-production from Spotify Technology SA’s Gimlet Media and The Wall Street Journal.

Olbermann said his morning weekday news program will typically run about 35 minutes. Besides the latest political chatter, it will include some of his trademark segments from previous shows including “Worst Person in the World,” in which he calls out someone who he thinks is particularly bad.

Olbermann is the latest prominent television personality to try podcasting. Former “Today” and “CBS Evening News” anchor Katie Couric and Megyn Kelly, ex-Fox News anchor and former host of NBC’s short-lived “Megyn Kelly Today,” are among the small-screen stars who have pivoted to podcasting. Former late-night TV host Conan O’Brien has also transitioned to podcasting. Ms. Kelly’s show also streams Monday through Friday.

Olbermann declined to comment on the terms of his deal with iHeartMedia beyond saying the budget for the show is “extremely huge.” He said he is in a position to not have to work again for money. “I’m doing the work for the work.” He does not rule out an eventual return to television, saying he has had the presence of mind to “stop predicting my next career development around 1997.”