Olbermann: NBC Countdown a ‘One-Shot Deal’

Anchor Plans ‘Special Comment’ on Michael Vick, ‘Worst Person in the NFL’ Segment as Part of Football Coverage

By Alex Weprin -- Broadcasting & Cable, 8/23/2007 11:01:00 AM

In a conference call with reporters Wednesday afternoon, MSNBC host Keith Olbermann said he is anchoring the special edition of Countdown Sunday on NBC “with an assumption that this is a one-shot deal.”

He added that he could not rule out a similar arrangement in the future, but it would be dependent on the success and reception of Sunday’s show with affiliates and viewers.

Olbermann also elaborated on his involvement with Football Night in America and NBC’s National Football League coverage.

As part of the football coverage, Olbermann will pen a special comment regarding Michael Vick for Sunday’s halftime show: “If you dislike or hate Michael Vick for what he has done, your hope should be that the NFL punishment against him is minimal. It is sort of a counterintuitive position, and I will explain it at length [Sunday],” Olbermann said.

The NFL halftime program will also feature a variation of the popular Countdown segment, “Worst Person in the World” called, appropriately, “Worst Person in the NFL.”

Responding to a question about the reactions he has received from viewers, Olbermann said his relatively recent foray into political commentary has not drawn substantively different criticism than what he saw from his pre-NBC days.

“In terms of negativity, I once got a phone call from someone who threatened to cut my tongue out for what I said on the air,” he added. “This was on KNX radio in Los Angeles in 1987.” The caller was an irate Dodgers fan who took offense to Olbermann’s opinion that the Dodgers “stunk” that year.