Countdown begins for end of Keith Olbermann's 'Countdown'?

Remember Keith Olbermann?

He was the one-time must-see anti-Bush ranter who helped rescue MSNBC (yes, it's still on at night) from even worse oblivion years ago.

Well, quietly last month while no one was looking, hardly anyone was watching Keith Olbermann anymore.

The guy, who's even apparently tried to get some Sarah Palin-like eyeglasses, is now forced to leap over-the-top on ex-state senators like Scott Brown and Tuesday's worst person, Fox News' Glenn Beck. Beck is the successful talker with the perfect haircut for radio. Like most Americans, he wasn't watching Keith.

There are a couple of reasons for KO's frustration and anger and volume and core meltdown over the Massachusetts election outcome, among other issues of galactic import. For one, lots more ranters around nowadays on all sides, including that colleague of Keith's with the hugest head in TV. Please, no 3-D for him!

Also, Olbermann's showboat is sinking. Listing in you-know-which direction.

It's as if he thinks talking LOUDER will keep his low cell battery from dying.

Worst, Olbermann's network president, Phil Griffin, is publicly praising him, always an ominous sign in television. While referring to his host almost in the past tense. "Keith has been our tentpole," Griffin says, adding later, "I'm pleased with where we are."

Where they are, as Jeff Bercovici points out over at Daily Finance, is way behind the big boys over at Fox News, Bill O'Reilly and gang. In fact, Keith is so far behind Bill, he can't even make out the state of the license plate, let alone the numbers. Bercovici thinks Americans may be outgrowing Olbermann's schtick.

In the most desirable TV demographic of 25-54, which Keith will soon outgrow himself, "Countdown" lost 44% of its audience from the beginning of President Obama's term until this year. It could have been worse -- say, 45%.

Olbermann averaged 268,000 viewers last month in that sector. That's just several thousand sets of those eyes more than Campbell Brown over on CNN. According to one count, Keith even finished in that time slot behind Nancy Grace. Nancy Grace!

And she's on Headline News, Headline News, the repetitious TV channel the repetitious TV channel inflicted on all U.S. airline travelers within any boarding area around the clock so that when, at least an hour late, each person is finally crammed into plane seats between professional wrestlers, they feel relief.

On the bright side, which everyone knows KO is fond of spotting, his MSNBC audience was only 696,000 viewers 24-54 behind O'Reilly, whose audience has grown 55%, according to Bercovici. Of course, it might be worse this month.

In the immortal words of Edward J. Smith, captain of the Titanic, "What iceberg?"

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Credit: Getty Images (photos shown roughly proportionate to audience size).

Comments

[Lee]

What a load of bollocks. Since when is FOX a news organization? They're a "sensationalist RWNJ talking points" channel. Nothing more.

[Stephen Hugli]

Couldn't happen soon enough. He is a true putz!!!

[christopher hubbard]

good bye KO and good riddance. i doubt espn or cbs2 will have you back.

[andrew nelson]

Keith Olbermann? Name doesn't ring a bell...

[JaneBond462]

I was so thrilled when Keith Olbermann came to MSNBC in 2003 (?). Countdown was funny, sarcastic & irreverent and even my husband, who hates watching the news, loved the show. I watched the show every night. In 2005/2006, the witty tone of the show changed to one of anger and I grew tired of the incessant Bush-bashing. After working all day, I'm not going to spend 60 minutes each evening being irritated . I haven't watched the show in over 3 years.

Over the years, I noticed that Olbermann began to take himself more seriously, like he was the Second Coming of Edward R Murrow. Keith, it's too bad you didn't realize that wit & sarcasm are your strong suits and that's what drew viewers, not strident anger.

[Yoyi]

So the point was that KO's ratings are down and that you are an obnoxious right winger. That could have been conveyed in one sentence.

[Pelosi's Facelift]

If Keith's grandmother stopped watching him, his ratings would be cut in half. lol

I know...what you libbies need is your own left wing network that would feature only lefty programming and lefty hosts.
Oh wait....never mind.

Hahahahahahaq

[dennisl59]

After a while, the novelty of watching that Clinically Delusional Idiot and his buddies just wears off, doesn't it? I'm down to ~35 seconds and then tune to the Weather Channel.

[Loonesta]

At the very best of times, these bickering cable news networks manage to scrounge up viewer numbers of less than 4 million people. That's around half of the population of Los Angeles, great numbers for a local broadcast, but really pathetic when you consider that we are a nation of almost 304 million people

[jim]

Olbermann is a gutless coward and the biggest hack in the history of television.

[Marianne]

Keith who?

[Zach, AR]

Olbermann is a waste of space. Apparently, if you have any opinion which differentiates from his, you are a racist, sexist, bigoted, homophobe. This guy needs to go play on a busy street.

[Brad]

When is Keith Olbermann going to officially change his name to Democratic Party Schill ?

He was amusing on ESPN about 2 decades ago reporting on Sports, but his knowledge of the political arena is so miniscule that he has to resort to that morning's Talking Points memo he gets from the DNC.

Keith - just go away.

[skinbad]

It's cool. He can always get a job with Air America.

[Larry_Kelly]

This proves there is a God.

[RonnyRayGun]

The vile and obnoxious Olberdouche should be releived from his duties. What a hate-filled over-the-top leftist this guy is. Does anybody watch that show. He is the worst person in the world for sure.

[Darrelb]

Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

[Fuzzlenutter]

The entire evening lineup at the deplorable MSNBC (Olbermann, Matthews, and Maddow) is considered a joke nowadays, even by the Left.

And you've got to love Phil Griffin's "I'm pleased with where we are." If MSNBC's president is pleased with being at the bottom of the barrel, they've got a lot more problems than just these three stooges...

[DankDillweed]

Funny thing is, KO just recently was mentioning his high ratings. Denial, Keith,will set you free. Free to go fishing, free to fill out job apps, free as a bird. Buh-bye. I will miss you though, you crack me up (in a horror movie sort of way).

[kabookey]

Can KO make Griffin his worst person without getting in trouble?

[Matt in Chicago]

So is it Bush's fault for no longer being in office and giving him someone to hate or is it the Liberal's fault for so badly misreading the mood and values of this Country? For those of you who still think it's Bush's fault... I suggest you prepare yourself for Nov 2010 because you are in for a rude awakening.

[Doug]

Keith is all 100% left all of the time and doesn't hide it. The only time he has ever invited a Republican/Independent/Libertarian/Conservative point of view on the show is when they are turning against Republicans/Independents/Libertarians/ and Conservatives. The MSNBC business model is pure insanity. You have left, left, left, left, left for hours from Matthews, Shuster, Maddow, Schultz, Olbermann...I mean it goes on from the second you wake up in the morning with Mika and Danny Deutsch.

MSNBC is NOTHING more than a mouthpiece for the far fringe of the progressive left. When they add a few middle of the road or God forbid different points of view in their programming they might find themselves beating re-runs of Alf on WGN.

[Barry]

Unfortunately, left-wing ranters don't get the popularity of right-wing ranters. Why? Left wing people have a more nuanced view of the world. Very little is black and white. Right-wingers, on the other hand, have a very black and white, good vs evil view. To support this, right-wing commentators' messages tend to be mean-spirited, exclusionary, and fear-based. And this makes for better entertainment.

[DeadMediaWalking]

You're too hard on Keith. After all, he's a graduate of an "Ivy League college." Well, actually, he went to the satellite campus of any ivy league college. (He'll be glad to show you his diploma!) But what the heck? Wonder if NBC realizes how many NFL fans hit the Mute button when he does his reportage every Sunday before the game? Still and all, it would be hard to find anyone who can do that "tossing my notes" flourish at the end of his show any better than Keith. You can almost feel the spittle flying out of the tv anytime he rants. Maybe that's why he's such a great Left-wing attack dog (Dobermann).

[Ken Jackson]

I must admit that I stopped watching Keith. Not because I don't like him. I find him and Rachel as the best 1-2 punch in cable news. It's just that I don't have the desire, as my conservative friends do, to find time to hate everyone that disagrees with me. I've been spending my evenings and nights, talking with friends/family, playing board games, and reading. Political TV will just have to wait.

And I should note that I'll pop in on occasion if there's a big story that I'd like to hear their take on. But I don't tune in every night. Adversarial politics simply isn't that important to me. I think for most liberals this is the case. There are some radical liberals, but they're the exception. While I think radical conservatism is the mainstream -- hence Fox News's ratings.

[roger fox]

Yes, Mr. Malcolm you must have a deep understanding of Mr. Olbermann's alleged plight. Going by the comments piled up referencing your column: no one is reading you.

(Obviously, you do not realize what you've just written here. So we'll just thank you for being among the many.)

[mascmen7]

I used to watch Keith Olbermann whom I call Keith Doberman until Obama's stimulus bill made me realize that USA is in serious trouble. So I fled to O'Reilly and Fox News for comfort and I stopped any watching of MSNBC and CNN because the they worship the Kenyan born messiah who is destroying our economy and nation.

[valwayne]

Did GE get those Government contracts from Obama and the Democratic Congress for NBC, and especially MSNB, becoming the Obama cheer leading squad? They should have because they've destroyed both NBC and MSNBC by drowning them in Obama Kool-Aide. As for Olbermann, well what can you say after the Scott Brown rant!

[damian]

He'll probably blame Bush for losing his gig. MSNBC should have him committed. I can see him going postal if his show gets canceled. Not that anyone in the world would know it was canceled...

Maybe that's the best way to go. Do an Office Space and don't tell the big dofus he was fired. Just move his office to basement and let him take his stapler

[sarainitaly]

why is Bill O'Reilly's picture on this story?

[Brian Garland]

MSNBC just keeps whistling past the graveyard of liberal media. It's going to start getting crowded in there.

[Scotty Starnes]

This is what you get from a guy who claims he's an intellect. Maybe if Olbermann was a true journalist, his ratings would be 2 % higher. It's laughable that a sportscaster is giving his bloated opinion and those on the left believe it hook, line and sinker. It's a good thing his ratings are low. If they were in the stratosphere, I'd be worried about how people think about those on the progressive left.

[Itzik Basman]

I have never once in all the years of my occasional Olbermann watching seen him have a guest who disagrees with him. Even the sniggering, hard-to-take Rachel Maddow has opposing points of view on her show once in a while.

[Scott]

Ah, this article is so delicious - and so true. You can fully expect to be made "worst person in the world" within the next two nights. Wear it like a badge of honor. Then challenge Olbermann to a debate on his show and watch him run away in the same cowardly fashion he always exhibits.

By the way, my wife and I just watch "Bold Fresh Tour" at our local cinema last night. We loved it.

[Bigdave]

Keith Olbermann is a hate mongering fool! How dare he talk about ANY conservative. The man is a liar and a withholder of the truth. Fits right in with Hollywood, perverts who enjoy making movies about children having sex and then children AT 16 and everthing is wonderful...are you all on DRUGS?! Since you overindulged/overpaid/oversexed/overdrugged morons want socialism for everyone EXCEPT YOU, we should bring it to you NOW!!! Take your homes and give to the homeless, take your money and like your SAVIOR OBAMA, redistribute as we see fit..and from now on you will be paid minimum wage for your stupid movies!! Lets see how long it takes for you to start begging for CAPITALISM!! The Cubans do not risk their lives to ESCAPE FROM PARADISE YOU FOOLS! M Moore is another LIAR who laughs all the way to the bank, just like GORE!

[Lemont]

I sincerely hope that Mr. Olbermanm (Uberman?) doesn't Count himself Down to zero. His screeching histrionics have to have had an impact on driving independents to the conservative side--though his audience numbers are so low that it moderates his impact. Please Mr. Olbermann, don't change a thing (except maybe try to get guest slots on other shows to promote your brand).

[Jane]

Olbermann and Matthews and most liberal talk shows (Air America) just aren't that likable.

The hosts seem cynical and surly.

[Dan]

People don't mind ranting, but the rants have to have some basis in reality. Even if that reality is clouded in the foggy bog of inaccurate and dangerous world views held by the liberal left. KO is probably a nice guy one on one. But his on air commentaries are borderline psychotic and delusional and no one wants to witness that. Oh... wait... there are 268,000 in the 24 - 54 age range that evidently want to see that. But that doesn't make for good ad selling numbers when the overhead is so high. It'd be great if he had those numbers reading a blog that he updated in his pajamas, from his mother's second bedroom, though. Lower overhead. He could even do a vlog from said bedroom. He'd probably be able to eek out a living that way.

KO will go the way of the Air America Dodo bird. Their target audience isn't interested in fact based political commentary (which neither of those entities represented anyway) but they're not interested in watching KOs slide into full on psychosis, either.

Bye, bye, Keith.

[Brandon Mendelson]

I see the rest of the media circling like vultures here, but the ratings decline should not be a surprise. You can almost make a bet and win that when the Republicans take back control of one of the branches, MSNBC ratings will go up (as will Olbermans.)

That is, if MSNBC doesn't hit the panic button between now and this November.

[Just Me]

"Must-see"? Keefums was never must-see.

Point and laugh at, maybe.

[doogle]

Love the small picture of KO, and the REALLY, REALLY BIG picture of Bill O...please someone, show this article to Keithie.

And, thank you for the comment about HLN's Nancy Grace program. I thought my TIVO was broken and just repeating itself...every single night.

[Lokki]

Keith who?

Wasn't he a sportscaster or something, a long time ago?

[Thearle Lacey]

At least with Keith, I get the truth. FOX News is an unethical bunch of liars disguised as news persons. Not one day goes by that in the Free Media, the stories reported by FOX and crew are not only refuted, but proof is included right next to the refutation. When you give beaucoup free air time for a candidate and set up funding for that candidate and deceive the MA residents into believing that it was ALL their money, than you cease to be a NEWS organization. I was raised in radio from the forties with my Dad and then in my own career. You don't do what you people do and then cat-call a competitor, whom I might add was one of the first channels that was taken off analogue and Corporations like Comcast et al do not offer it's viewers unless high fees are paid. Of course, this comment will be a non-post, too, because that's the way you folks are. Mr. Brown is a false statesman and I'm damn glad I'm no longer a MA. resident where I was born and raised.

[Fred Wallin]

Sirs,

I'm not a huge Bill Maher fan, but when he says this is a stupid nation he is correct..Right there, you have the reason for Fox's ratings!

[Jesus]

Wishful thinking gets cheaper by the minute...

[Occam's Razor]

"Aye, Duke Keith was brave and resolute (LOL)...but he was still stupid to put himself in the path of the Harkonnen fist!"

[Looking for Sanity]

Nah, nah, nah, nah, hey, hey good-bye!

[DC]

"In the immortal words of Edward J. Smith, captain of the Titanic, "What iceberg?"

HEY! You owe me a keyboard. LMAO.

OH, just a shame about Herr Olbermann, huh?

[hollyweirdo]

KO won't be missed when he finally takes that long step into total oblivion. After all, he's halfway there already!

[HutchTX]

Olbermann reminds me of Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan when they suddenly came to the realization that they were teetering on the edge of irrelevance. "Oh no," they said, "we are about to be IGNORED." And if your ego is as big as Keith's hairpiece that simply will not do. Much better to go out by throwing every bomb and burning every bridge and demeaning yourself into a cartoon character. How is it working out for your equally irrelevant colleagues?

To wit, Chris Matthews has now embarrassed himself to the point where Phil Griffin must be punching himself in the yambag every time this fool opens his mouth. The drivel he spews now you couldn't even make up. What next? Reveal you have homosexual fantasy dreams about Obama? That he should be POTUS for life because of the pigmentation of his skin? That you would give anything to have an Afro even if it was only for a minute?

Good riddance Mr. Olbermann. I pity you, SIR!