Olbermann to Host TBS' Postseason Baseball Coverage

First TV gig since getting fired from Current last year

By Tim Baysinger -- Broadcasting & Cable, 6/5/2013 10:03:30 AM

Keith Olbermann will return to television this fall as a studio host for TBS' coverage of the 2013 MLB playoffs in October. Turner made the announcement Wednesday morning.

Olbermann will be joined by Dennis Eckersley, while Cal Ripken will move into the booth full-time working with Ernie Johnson and Ron Darling. Turner also announced that Darling has reached a long-term extension. Darling has been speculated as a possible replacement for the retiring Tim McCarver on Fox.

"It's well known that Keith is a fan of the game and when you combine that with his studio experience, keen insight and passion for baseball and its history, he'll add a new dimension to our MLB postseason studio shows," said David Levy, president of sales, distribution and sports for Turner. "We're excited to have him join Dennis in studio, and look forward to Keith sharing his in-depth knowledge of the game, MLB teams and players with our viewers for three great weeks in October."

This puts Olbermann on television for the first time since he was fired from Current TV a little more than a year into his tenure, which followed other messy breakups with MSNBC and ESPN. It also puts the volatile anchor under the same corporate umbrella as CNN head Jeff Zucker, who was known for pulling him from NBC's Football Night in America.

It also returns Olbermann to his original job of covering sports, which he did as a SportsCenter anchor on ESPN from 1992-97. He has also hosted NBC and Fox's postseason baseball coverage.

"It's tremendous to be back in baseball," Olbermann said during a conference call with reporters. "This will be the third different network I've done the postseason for and that's a record that I'm the only one that's going to be capable of breaking."