Why I Find Big Ed's Demotion To Weekends Troubling

[Samantha]

88. Cheers back at you, but here's this: Olbermann decided he wanted to leave before the

merger because he did not want to be muzzled by Comcast. So yes, it was of his own making, but had he not done so, he probably would be working the 2 to 4 time frame at MSNBC on Saturday afternoon's right before Ed's show. No matter how one cuts it, he would not have remained at that 8 prime time slot. Many Republicans were complaining about the content and volume of his broadcasts.

I have worked with some incredible egos for years as well in the legal arena. Some do self-destruct, but incredibly many do rise to the top of their fields. I think in any field of high stress, one has to have a pretty healthy ego to start with to walk through the door. The more success they achieve, the more larger the ego becomes.

I do not agree with you that his departure at Current was of his own making. Current failed to live up to its contractual obligations, and I do not see that as something one can lay at Olbermann's feet. I read Olbermann's complaint in its totality, and I also read Current's response. I thought from the beginning of the case, Olbermann would win. Many people have quietly commented he pocketed a sizable sum in the recent settlement, and if the arbitrator had not found Current largely at fault, that would not have happened. He hired an excellent, high-profile attorney, and she would not have taken the case if the odds of winning were had been on Current's end.

I don't watch Leno much myself but regardless of the distance between the two entities, savings on subsidiary's budgets still are reported on the master NBC/Comcast partnership profits.

As far as guessing who is making out better, take a look at the reporting on that:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-06-13/disney-s-abc-said-to-finish-ad-sales-ahead-of-tv-season.html

"ABC collected about $2.4 billion in orders and Fox booked $1.95 billion, both little changed from a year ago, while NBC received $100 million more than last season’s $1.7 billion, said the people, who weren’t authorized to talk publicly.

Fox Leads

For the eighth straight time, Fox finished last season as the most watched among 18- to 49-year-old viewers, a group targeted by advertisers. Fox plans to add five new shows next season, including “The Mindy Project” and “Ben and Kate.” Last month, Fox said it plans to retool the “Idol” singing competition to reverse ratings declines."

These numbers are for 2012-2013.

Quality of content no longer matters -- only the dollars.