Keith Olbermann

Keith Olbermann’s legal war with Current TV has reportedly ended.

The perennially perturbed personality filed a $50 million lawsuit upon his termination from Current one year ago. He will indeed receive a "significant payout."

The exact amount will not be known until it's leaked in a few hours.

In his legal complaint, Olbermann accused Current co-founders Joel Hyatt and Al Gore of being “dilettantes portraying entertainment executives.”

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Itinerant news anchor and malcontent Keith Olbermann is suing Current TV, which fired him late last week, for violating his contract and torpedoing his show, to the tune of $70 million in damages and unpaid compensation.

Olbermann says that the inept "Al Gore, Joel Hyatt and the management of Current are no more than dilettantes portraying entertainment industry executives."

Keith claims his "public termination" was "the latest in a series of increasingly erratic and unprofessional actions undertaken by Current's senior management."

Hilariously, Olbermann actually accuses Current of enticing him to leave MSNBC - which unceremoniously canned him also - by making promises it failed to deliver on.

Keith says Current is so dysfunctional and broke after the network's first eight months on the air that is "still couldn't manage to, literally, keep the lights on."

Olbermann is suing for breach of contract, sabotage and disparagement.

Current responded that he's liar, a bully and a terrible person, basically.

The network has fired back at the Countdown host, claiming his $70 million lawsuit is "false and malicious" and Olbermann got fired for breach of contract.

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In his first interview since being fired by Current TV, Keith Olbermann told David Letterman on The Late Show Tuesday that “I screwed up really big.”

Explaining his ouster using a drawn-out metaphor, he said, “It’s my fault it didn’t succeed in the sense that I didn’t think the whole thing through."

"I didn’t say, 'you know, if you buy a $10 million chandelier, you should have a house to put it in. Just walking around with a $10 million chandelier isn’t going to do anybody a lot of good, and it’s not going to do any good to the chandelier.'"

Keith Olbermann on The Late Show With David Letterman

"And it turned out we didn’t have a lot to put the house on to put the chandelier in, or a building permit, and I should have known that. And it is my fault at heart."

"Now, I’ve been in situations in my lifetime where the second I agreed to something, I got that sinking feeling in my stomach and I've said to myself on those occasions, ‘Holy goodness, I’ve just made a huge mistake.’”

"So ... you're the chandelier?” Letterman asked, genuinely wondering.

We assume that's what he meant. Olbermann, who was fired by MSNBC before signing on with Current about a year ago, went on to explain:

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Keith Olbermann has just been fired by the cable network that took him in after the much higher-profile cable network he was previously on cut him loose.

Current TV, which was co-founded by Al Gore, released a statement saying it was parting ways with the pundit, surprisingly citing a difference in values.

The decision comes less than a year after Keith Olbermann was fired by MSNBC, then hired by Current to help energize the network’s primetime ratings.

Current said in a statement this afternoon:

"We created Current to give voice to those Americans who refuse to rely on corporate-controlled media and are seeking an authentic progressive outlet."

"We are more committed to those goals today than ever before."

"Current was founded on the values of respect, openness, collegiality, and loyalty to our viewers. Unfortunately these values are no longer reflected in our relationship with Keith Olbermann and we have ended it."

Current also announced today that it will be giving former New York Governor and CNN personality Eliot Spitzer a show in the network’s 8 p.m. hour.

Keith Olbermann, the controversial, progressive commentator who abruptly left MSNBC in January, will return June 20 at his next home, Current TV.

The new Countdown with Keith Olbermann will air weeknights at 8 p.m. on the relatively new Current channel, co-founded by former V.P. Al Gore.

“The show will combine familiar and popular features with some new elements we can’t wait to unveil,” says Mark Rosenthal, Current TV CEO.

MSNBC fired Keith Olbermann unexpectedly early this year, sparking outcry from fans (and some chuckles from critics) and questions of where he would land.

As part of his new deal, he also becomes Current’s chief news officer, a position he said was still defined when his Current deal was announced in February.

Love him or hate him, Olbermann earned big ratings for MSNBC and was credited with helping create a progressive alternative to conservative talk shows.

The precise events that led to his sudden exit in January remain somewhat unclear, but it'll be interesting to see what following he develops on Current.

Just weeks after his firing by MSNBC, lightning rod anchor Keith Olbermann has announced his return to television, taking a leadership position at Current TV.

Al Gore's public affairs channel, which the former V.P. launched in 2005, also offered Olbermann an equity stake, the unabashed liberal personality said Tuesday.

He will not appear on the air until later this year.

Olbermann will serve as Current TV's Chief News Officer and will host a one-hour prime time show airing each weeknight from a New York City-based studio.

"It is truly the most exciting venture in my career," Olbermann told reporters during a conference call on Tuesday. Will it be among his most successful?

What do you think of Keith's move to Current TV?

Amid the shocking news that MSNBC fired Keith Olbermann late last week, the network is already looking to find a new marquee star for its growing brand.

Their ultimate wish list is topped by none other than Alec Baldwin.

"He's already part of the NBC family, has a huge fan base and is very respected for his long term passions for politics," a network source says of the actor.

FUNNIEST HOST EVER: Could Alec Baldwin be the new Keith Olbermann?

Alec, whose right-leaning media exec delivers epic 30 Rock quotes on a weekly basis, has expressed political aspirations before, especially lately.

"Yes, it's something that I'm very, very interested in," Alec told CNN's Parker Spitzer when asked if politics was a "game" he wanted to enter.

But could Baldwin really replace Olbermann after his tumultuous exit?

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In the 72 hours since MSNBC fired Keith Olbermann, speculation over the pundit's future has spread widely. One rumor? A TV collaboration with Aaron Sorkin.

The award-winning scribe of A Few Good Men, The West Wing, The Social Network and Moneyball fame has a new pilot in the works about a cable news show.

Sorkin spent time on Olbermann’s Countdown set while penning scripts (he also shadowed Chris Matthews and several Fox News shows) over the past year.

NATURAL TANDEM: A collaboration among left-leaning favorites Olbermann and Sorkin almost seems overdue. The former has plenty of time on his hands ...

EW reports that Olbermann may serve as a consultant to the show, if it gets picked up, and perhaps even deliver some of his signature rants on camera.

Sorkin's failed series Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip was panned a few years back for the simple fact that its SNL-style comedy sketches were unfunny.

Olbermann going off on long-winded tirades would certainly give a show (which HBO is reportedly considering) about cable news an air of authenticity.

Keith's next step is unclear, but reports say he may be on the shelf less than six months under the terms of his buyout deal with MSNBC. Stay tuned.

In the 36 hours since the surprise announcement that MSNBC fired Keith Olbermann, his abrupt exit from a network he helped transform has raised questions.

Why fire a guy with such undisputed value to the network, a figure who - love him or hate him - became one of the best-known figures of the cable news era?

Insiders say no single event got him axed, but for all his eloquence, on-air presence and broadcasting skill, Olbermann was just too difficult to work with.

According to the Washington Post, Olbermann often clashed with his employers, condemning - often publicly - directives with which he has disagreed.

Comcast's recent takeover of NBC merely marked the final straw in a long-brewing deterioration between the top brass and the iconoclastic, mercurial pundit.

Neither side was talking about the events that led Olbermann to announce his exit on his show Friday, but a divorce appeared to be long in the making.

His short-lived and bizarre suspension in November for campaign contributions that violated company policy was perhaps a harbinger of things to come.

So what's next for him now?

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Keith Olbermann, one of the best known cable news personalities on either side of the political spectrum, was abruptly fired yesterday by MSNBC.

Olbermann, in the middle of a four-year $30 million deal set to last until 2012, announced on last night's edition of Countdown that it was his last.

The dismissal is said to be at least indirectly related to Comcast's acquiring of NBC and the parent company's distaste for his defiance and attitude.

Here's Olberman signing off for the final time last night ...

Keith Olbermann Resigns From Countdown

Sources said network brass basically paid the pundit to scram by working out an agreement in which he would get lost and continue to be paid.

He will have to stay off the air at least until fall as a result.

MSNBC issued a vague, unemotional statement saying it ended its contract with Olbermann, who hosted the top rated show on the network.

The statement read in part, "MSNBC thanks Keith for his integral role in MSNBC's success and we wish him well in his future endeavors." Nice.

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