He’s back: Olbermann to anchor TBS’ postseason baseball coverage

This news might not go over well with some conservatives, but it is a good move for TBS. Keith Olbermann knows baseball, and he’s definitely a most interesting fellow.

Here’s the part of the Turner Sports release that focuses on Olbermann:

Olbermann, a long-time, award-winning sports and news anchor and reporter, anchored ESPN’s SportsCenter from 1992 to 1997. Most recently, he served as a guest host of MLB Network’s Hot Stove. A noted baseball enthusiast, whose long media career began in the pages of the early baseball memorabilia magazines when he was just a teenager, Olbermann previously served as a studio host for both NBC’s (1997-98) and Fox’s (1999-2000) MLB Postseason coverage. During his tenure at Fox, the MLB studio show Olbermann anchored was nominated twice for an Emmy Award, winning in 1999 for the Best Sports Studio Show. Including his hosting work, Olbermann has covered 19 World Series and 28 MLB post-seasons during his career.

Olbermann’s television career started as a New York sports reporter/anchor for CNN from 1981-84. He later returned to the network as a sports and news reporter in 2001 and 2002. In addition to his on-air work, he has written regular baseball columns during his career for Sports Illustrated, Baseball America and MLB.com.

“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,” Turner’s David Levy added. “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.”

 

 

Baseball or Smilin’ Joe? Ratings hold steady for Yankees-Orioles; surge after VP debate

What to watch?

Last night’s buffet table was full. Two big baseball games and a decent football game on NFL Network.

Ultimately, I chose the VP debate. I mean, this might be the last time we get to see “Smilin’ Joe Biden in that format. All I can say, I can’t wait to see the take from Saturday Night Live. Should be classic.

It was interesting to see how the debate impacted the ratings for the baseball game. From 7:30-9 p.m. ET, Yankees-Orioles did a 4.1 rating on TBS. It dipped only slightly to 4.0 during the debate from 9-10:30 p.m.

Then once the Biden show finished, many viewers ditched Wolf Blitzer and Chris Matthews and switched to the game. The rating from 10:30-12:15 a.m. was 5.4, up 35 percent. All told, the game did a 4.6 rating, impressive given the competition.

Baseball even beat football. The Pittsburgh-Tennessee game did a 4.4 overnight rating on NFL Network.