Written by It just may be that MSNBC’s canning of Keith Olbermann is only the beginning of a greater move to right of center programing for the cable channel. While Comcast denies having any involvement in the firing of Olbermann, the fact remains that leftwing cable news shows have never led in the cable news wars. Never. Fox News has had that honor for the last 12 years with Bill O’Reilly leading them all with nearly 3 million viewers a night. No other cable news network, MSNBC, CNN has every come close.
As you know the only progressive radio network Air America folded last year with barely a whimper. By and large right wing news sites and blog traffic dwarfs that on the left. The fact of the matter is that cable news is in it for the money. The more watchers the more money via ads and promotions.
MSNBC still has a pretty far-left lineup. Rachel Maddow is now the new leader ratings wise, but even her numbers don’t come close to those of Fox. It will be interesting to see what Comcast will do once it’s acquisition of NBCU is complete.
Noel Sheppard of News Busters has some thoughts on this as well.
“Are the folks at Comcast going to settle for MSNBC as an also-ran behind Fox, or are they looking to make some moves designed to make this news network more competitive? Possibly just as important, might they also be interested in appearing less partisan?
For several years, Olbermann has been the face of MSNBC. Mightn’t it be wise for this face to be something far less divisive, especially for a growing media conglomerate like Comcast.”
Comcast MSNBC Keith Olbermann
