Keith Olbermann-Current TV feud worries media analyst

If Keith Olbermann's rocky relationship with his new bosses at Current TV completely collapses, does the cable network have a plan B?

That's what cable industry analyst Derek Baine of SNL Kagan is wondering. In a Friday report, Baine notes that if Olbermann leaves, Current will be without its only big-name talent, the one it was banking on to help the channel compete with big boys CNN and MSNBC.

"Current will need to get its programming act together or it could face the possibility of being dropped by some distributors," Baine wrote.

The channel owned by Current Media Inc., founded by former Vice President Al Gore and entrepreneur Joel Hyatt, is trying to build its distribution from beyond the approximately 60 million homes in which is now available. Having Olbermann is part of that strategy. The hope is that he brings in viewers who then stick around for other new shows on the network, leading to greater distribution, more advertising dollars and a better platform to compete.

Current has already started building an evening lineup around Olbermann which, if successful, would likely ease some of Baine's concerns. "The Young Turks," featuring another MSNBC castoff -- Cenk Uygur -- is off to a strong start and scoring well with younger viewers. At the end of this month, former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm will launch her own prime-time political talk show.

"When you've got a show like 'The Young Turks' with an average [viewer] age of 47 -- 15 years younger than the other guys -- we think we've got a solid start in a great programming lineup," Hyatt said in response to Baine's concerns. In other words, Olbermann may be the straw that stirs the drink, but Current hopes to have a few other ice cubes in the glass.

For now, Olbermann appears to have made a tentative peace agreement with Current, with which he not only has a long-term deal, but a small ownership stake. One of his beefs -- the lack of high-tech sets -- is simply a matter of working for what is basically a start-up channel. Although Current has been around for several years, it only recently got into the live-programming game.

Current's next big push is to add shows in the morning and daytime, which will be crucial to boosting its distribution across the country. Some of the distributors that carry the channel want to see more of a commitment to fresh programming every day and have made that a condition of wider distribution.

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New Current TV president wants to be "tone changer"

-- Joe Flint

Photo: Keith Olbermann on his Current TV show. Credit: Current TV

New Current TV president wants to be 'tone changer'

The makeover of Current TV from a cable channel made up of user-generated content to a political news and analysis network took a big step forward with the hiring of a prominent CNN executive to oversee its programming efforts.

David Bohrman, who has held several senior positions at CNN, most recently as a senior vice president and chief innovation officer, is joining Current as its president. Bohrman, a Washington insider who used to run CNN's bureau there, has also had stints at ABC and NBC.

The tapping of Bohrman is the latest move by Current, co-founded by former Vice President Al Gore and Joel Hyatt. Earlier this year, Current hired commentator Keith Olbermann, whose show debuted seven weeks ago. Last month, Hyatt added the CEO title to his business card, which led to the departure of Mark Rosenthal, who had held that position.

In a statement, Gore described Current's mission as to "shine a light on important issues, to spark debate and to speak truth to power."

Current, which Hyatt said will bring a liberal perspective to its political coverage, wants to take on MSNBC and CNN. First priority for Hyatt will be boosting its distribution. The channel is in about 58 million homes; CNN, MSNBC and Fox News are each in more than 90 million homes.

In an interview, Bohrman said he thinks Current can "create a network that can enlighten the viewers and voters that are out there" without relying on the screaming matches that have become a staple of cable news.

"I think we can be a real tone changer," Bohrman said. MSNBC and CNN, he said, constantly feature guests "sniping" at each other. "They think it is balance, but it is just noise.... I want to provide a forum for various opinions but I don’t want people shouting at each other every other sentence," he said. "I think we’ll get viewers across the political spectrum."

Hyatt said the addition of Olbermann has brought new advertisers to Current as well as new viewers. Categories spending more on the channel include pharmaceutical companies, wireless providers and beverage companies.

Bohrman stressed that his first priority will be finding new shows to package around Olbermann's 8 p.m.-9 p.m. telecast.

"Keith is the beachhead and we need to strengthen it," he said.

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Photo: David Bohrman. Credit: Current TV.

Current TV CEO Mark Rosenthal steps down

Al Gore's struggling cable channel, Current TV, witnessed an inconvenient truth: It has trouble keeping executives.

On Thursday, the 6-year-old cable network announced the departure of Mark Rosenthal, its chief executive for the last two years. 

Current TV co-founder Joel Hyatt once again steps into the role of CEO. Hyatt launched the channel, now available in about 75 million homes, with the former vice president in 2005. At the time, their goal was not to create a political channel but rather to borrow a page from social media sites to appeal to the Generation X crowd with culturally relevant programming.

During his tenure, Rosenthal attempted to reduce overhead costs to shore up Current TV's finances and improve relations with cable and satellite distributors. He steered the channel away from short-form programming submitted by viewers, which failed to attract audiences. 

Last month, the network added liberal commentor Keith Olbermann to its prime-time roster in a bid for greater recognition and clout.  Now Current is focused on news and analysis, which it called "a solid foundation for growth."

"These results helped pave the way for Current's recently successful launch of 'Countdown With Keith Olbermann' and the network's major strategic shift to become a political commentary and news analysis network with a clear, progressive point of view," the network said in a statement.

Rosenthal -- a former head of MTV and former CEO of advertising firm Interpublic Media --  was not immediately available for comment.

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Photo: President Clinton and Current TV co-founder Al Gore welcome Current TV reporters Euna Lee and Laura Ling back to the U.S. in 2009. The reporters were detained for five months in North Korea. Credit: Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times

Keith Olbermann's show tweaks MSNBC on Twitter

Search for MSNBC on Twitter and you know what comes up at the top of the page? A tweet promoting Keith Olbermann's new show on Current TV.

The clever folks at Current TV bought an ad on Twitter that puts a promotional tweet for Olbermann's "Countdown" on the top of any search on the site for "MSNBC." Given that on Thursday MSNBC made national news itself when Time magazine's Mark Halperin called President Obama a bad word on its "Morning Joe" program, Olbermann's show is no doubt getting a ton of publicity. The tweet is not from Olbermann's personal Twitter feed but from CountdownKO, a feed Current TV set up to hype the show.

The tweets range from plugging what is on upcoming shows to telling people how to find Current TV on their cable and satellite distributor.

Olbermann, of course, worked at MSNBC until earlier this year, when his clashes with management finally reached the point of no return and he left the cable network. He started his new show on Current last week and immediately became the biggest program the channel has ever had.

Although Olbermann likes tweaking MSNBC, he did drop the idea of running his show an extra three minutes just so it would bleed into the opening of Rachel Maddow's show on MSNBC. Such a move would only serve to annoy fans of both commentators and not really have any effect on the ratings. Olbermann did it for a few days and has since cut his show back to an hour.

-- Joe Flint

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Photo: Keith Olbermann. Credit: Peter Kramer / Associated Press

Olbermann's stunt won't hurt Maddow, it will just irk viewers

In a move that will annoy viewers but accomplish little else, Keith Olbermann's new version of "Countdown," which premiered on Monday night, ran 63 minutes instead of an hour.

The reason for this is so Olbermann's show, which is telecast at 8 p.m., will bleed into the 9 p.m. hour, which is when his former protege Rachel Maddow starts her show on MSNBC. The odds that this move will actually hurt Maddow's ratings are slim. Current is  in only 60 million homes, while MSNBC, Olbermann's old employer, is in more than 95 million homes. Even if the two have a lot of common viewers, there are not enough to really make a dent in Maddow's numbers.

Olbermann is hardly the first to play this game. Practically all the broadcast and cable networks bleed their shows into the next hour both as an attempt to boost ratings for that hour and to hurt the competition. It doesn't really do much except tick off the viewing audience at home.

It also often messes up DVR recordings. Consumers have to take the proactive step of programming their DVRs to extend recordings by five minutes, otherwise the ends of shows are cut off. It may sound like a minor inconvenience, but why should consumers have to take all these extra steps just because the networks refuse to start and end their shows on time?

The industry needs to remember that these petty games rarely help the bottom line and only hurt their customers.

-- Joe Flint

Photo: Keith Olbermann. Credit: Current TV.

Current TV watching Comcast-Bloomberg fight closely

Bloomberg and Comcast are not the only interested parties watching to see how the Federal Communications Commission resolves their feud over where Bloomberg's business news channel should be placed on Comcast's cable systems.

Also paying close attention to whether the FCC orders Comcast to move Bloomberg closer to CNBC -- the dominant financial news channel now owned by Comcast -- is Current TV, the little cable network founded by former Vice President Al Gore that this week debuts a show from vitriolic commentator Keith Olbermann.

The Comcast-Bloomberg fight stems from from Bloomberg's desire to have its cable channel -- Bloomberg TV -- next to or near CNBC. In a complaint filed with the FCC last week, Bloomberg claimed that the regulatory agency's January order approving Comcast's deal to acquire a majority stake in CNBC parent NBCUniversal requires the cable giant to place independent news outlets such as Bloomberg TV on a channel next to or very near CNBC.

Comcast countered that it has a different interpretation of the FCC's conditions and that it is in compliance with the government.

Current TV is watching the proceedings because it has ambitions of becoming a news channel. The hiring of Olbermann, who besides hosting a new version of "Countdown" also serves as chief news officer for the cable channel,is seen as the first step in creating a network to rival MSNBC, the channel of choice for left wingers. 

Of course, Current TV has a long way to go before it can call itself a news channel. It has its fair share of serious programs -- including its newsmagazine "Vanguard," which could qualify as news or public affairs -- but it also has shows that, at least based on their titles, sound more appropriate for E! or TLC. Recent programs on Current include "Kill It, Cook It, Eat It," "What Did I Do Last Night" and "Hooked on Danger." Although the last two titles could certainly apply to the lifestyle of former New York Rep. Anthony Weiner, for now the network is not seen as a rival to CNN, Fox News or MSNBC.

Qualifying as a news channel is just one issue that Current will face in trying to improve its distribution situation from the 60 million homes that get the network. There is also the subject of Current's independence.

Bloomberg's claim for better placement stems from the idea that it is an independent news channel and not part of some larger media giant with holdings in content and distribution. Current will argue the same thing.

But Comcast actually owns a 5% to 10% stake in Current.  Satellite broadcaster DirecTV has a similar ownership in Current, according to a document the network filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission when it was planning to go public.

Would Comcast's stake in Current TV be big enough to nullify the FCC's order? Current doesn't think so, a person close to the network said. The agency has said in its rules that an ownership stake of 5% or more is considered an attributable interest, which may support Comcast in trying to make the case that Current is does not meet the criteria of an independent channel.

Comcast does distribute Current, but on a tier that is subscribed to by approximately 12 million of Comcast's roughly 23 million subscribers.

Better placement on Comcast systems is hardly the biggest challenge facing Current. It still has no distribution on Cox, Cablevision or Charter, three of the largest distributors in the country.

If nothing else, a potential feud between Current and Comcast could give Olbermann one more thing to rant about.

-- Joe Flint

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Photo: Keith Olbermann. Credit: Peter Kramer / Associated Press