Keith Olbermann is returning to ESPN to host a late-night show beginning on Aug. 26.
The new show "Olbermann" will generally air at 11 p.m. ET weeknights on ESPN2 and is expected to be a mix of perspective, commentary, interviews, panel discussions and highlights. The hourlong show often will follow live events and run opposite of "SportsCenter" on ESPN. It will be based at the Times Square studios in New York City.
Olbermann has a long history with ESPN. He worked for the network from 1992-97, but the split between the two sides was acrimonious. Olbermann went on to work at NBC, Fox and MSNBC, where he hosted a prime-time political news program. He returns to ESPN in a new role that he and ESPN president John Skipper have discussed for several months.
"Apart from the opportunity to try to create a nightly hour of sports television that no fan can afford to miss," Olbermann said in a news release, "I'm overwhelmed by the chance to begin anew with ESPN. I've been gone for 16 years and not one day in that time has passed without someone connecting me to the network. Our histories are indelibly intertwined and frankly I have long wished that I had the chance to make sure the totality of that story would be a completely positive one. I'm grateful to friends and bosses -- old and new -- who have permitted that opportunity to come to pass. I'm not going to waste it."
Said Skipper: "Keith is a one-of-a-kind personality, and these shows will be appointment viewing for that very reason."
Olbermann, a Cornell alumus, worked at CNN and in local news in Boston and Los Angeles before joining ESPN in 1992.
"Keith brings a blend of editorial sophistication and unpredictability -- you can never be sure what you'll get," Skipper said in a statement. "Olbermann on ESPN2 gives viewers the quality late-night complement to ESPN's SportsCenter in the same way we've developed distinct show options across our networks the rest of the day."