NBC - NBC RESIGNS OLBERMANN -- FOR MSNBC AND NIGHTLY NEWS

Appearing to hand over a load of new ammunition to Fox News commentator Bill O'Reilly, who has accused NBC of leftist sentiments, the GE-owned network on Thursday announced that it had signed a new deal with Keith Olbermann, under which he'll not only continue to air his liberal views on MSNBC but also air them as a regular contributor to NBC Nightly News. (The network refers to them as "essays.") Over the past year, Olbermann has seen his ratings on MSNBC climb 85 percent to about 715,000 viewers. O'Reilly, who airs opposite him, continues to dominate with about 2.5 million viewers, although his audience has dropped about 3 percent during the past year.

16/02/2007