Keith Olbermann, the former MSNBC anchor, will host a prime time program for Current TV, the low-rated cable channel co-founded by Al Gore. The one-hour program will begin sometime in the spring. 
 
 Mr. Olbermann will also become the chief news officer for Current, the company said in a news release Tuesday. 
 
 “We are delighted to provide Keith with the independent platform and freedom that Current can, and does uniquely offer,” Mr. Gore said in a statement. 
 
 Original story | Keith Olbermann, the former top-rated host on the news channel MSNBC, will announce his next television home on Tuesday, and people on Monday familiar with his plans pointed to a deal with the public affairs channel Current TV. 
 
 Mr. Olbermann, his representatives and executives from Current TV declined to comment on the move, but they did not deny that the channel, which counts former Vice President Al Gore as one of its founders, will become at least one partner in Mr. Olbermann’s future media plans. 
 
 One of the people with knowledge of the plans said Mr. Olbermann would have an equity stake in Current TV. The people insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized by their employers to comment in advance of the official announcement. 
 
 On Monday a public relations agency hired by Mr. Olbermann scheduled a Tuesday morning conference call for an announcement about his next job. “He and his new partners will make an exciting announcement regarding the next chapter in his remarkable career,” the agency wrote in an e-mail. 
 
 
 
 Current TV has set up a presentation with advertisers for Wednesday afternoon in Manhattan to announce its future plans. The channel may be betting on Mr. Olbermann to put it on the cable map. The low-rated five-year-old channel needs the help. Targeting young people, it originally subsisted on YouTube-style submissions and video journalists. More recently it started producing and acquiring traditional television series, like repeats of “This American Life.” 
 
 Mr. Olbermann departed MSNBC in January after some stormy interactions with management, including a suspension for contributing to political candidates. The settlement of his contract precluded his joining another television outlet for an undetermined period of time, but an announcement of a future assignment on Current TV would presumably not violate the terms of that deal as long as he did not start until after the agreed-upon waiting period. 
 
 A move to Current TV would challenge Mr. Olbermann’s fans of his MSNBC show — where he drew about a million viewers a night — to follow him to a channel that is considerably less accessible. Current TV is available in only about 60 million homes, and is usually provided only on the digital tier of cable television systems, which requires a separate receiver. MSNBC, which is owned by NBC Universal, is available in 85 million homes and is almost always available as a basic cable entry. 
 
 But the addition of Mr. Olbermann, the former sports anchor who made himself a progressive star at MSNBC, would surely elevate the channel, bringing it attention it has never before received. 
 
 With Current TV, Mr. Olbermann would also gain a measure of independence. Unlike most cable channels, including MSNBC, which are owned by large media companies, Current is privately and independently owned by Mr. Gore and other backers. 
 
 It is also possible that Mr. Olbermann will separately pursue other ventures, like an Internet destination. 
 
 Speculation has surrounded Mr. Olbermann since he abruptly left his job at MSNBC. He has been savoring the speculation, even posting a link on Twitter on Monday afternoon to a countdown clock for his announcement. 
 
 The abruptness of Mr. Olbermann’s departure last month suggested that he already had lined up another media job. The Internet domain name TheOlbermannShow.com was registered two days before his televised goodbye. A few days afterward, he set up a new Twitter account, called “FOKNewsChannel,” short for “Friends of Keith.” 
 
 The departure came just days before Comcast took control of NBC, leading some to suspect that he was forced out by Comcast — an assertion that the companies vigorously denied. Comcast owns a 10 percent stake in Current TV. ||||| In the Words of Keith Olbermann 
 
 Also on Current TV 
 
 Keith Olbermann, the acclaimed broadcaster and writer whose verbal pyrotechnics and moral passion have outraged, informed, and dazzled viewers of "Countdown With Keith Olbermann" for the past eight years, is bringing his slashing wit, analytical eye, and distinctive commentary to Current Media, the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning TV and digital media company that was founded in 2005 by Al Gore and Joel Hyatt and is now distributed in more than 75 million households around the world.The new show will air weeknights in primetime beginning later in 2011.Nothing is more vital to free America than a free media. And nothing is more vital to my concept of a free media than news that is produced independently of corporate interference. And thus I'm pleased to announce that I'll be returning to television on Current TV.In Current media, Al Gore and Joel Hyatt have created what is, in my opinion, the model truth-seeking entity, and the opportunity to partner with Al and Joel and Mark Rosenthal makes this truly the most exciting venture in my career, which, as you know, has had a lot of exciting ventures, some of them intentional and some of them not so intentional.As you probably may not be aware, Current is, in fact, one of the fastest-growing television networks in history, and its position right now is as favorable as any cable network that I have been associated with at the time of my joining....At this point, Current is not merely the leading independent news and information network in television in the United States, but it really is the only one. And to underscore and to support that is my great privilege and, to some degree, I hope, with the people with whom I'll be working, our great duty.So I know it can be interpreted in the way, perhaps, that you did, but my argument would be that we're talking about, without getting too highfalutin here, we're talking about a larger purpose and a – and a corner, at least, of the news industry – journalism, television news, all the rest – that needs to be, again, highfalutin word, sacrosanct....Again, not to criticize what's being done elsewhere, but here is a unique opportunity for me to be involved in an organization that is both prosperous and influential and yet has, as its primary focus, as much as any you know – we're all in business here, but has as much of a focus towards editorial content and spreading, to use my favorite English teacher's phrase, "beauty and light" as any other priority in its – in its structure.I'm always trying to do more or a better version of what I've done previously. And I wanted this – my career and my involvement in news to continue to move forward. I think the shark analogy is probably on the tip of my tongue, so there it is. If you don't – if you don't keep moving, you're newscast falls off.So it's more in that sense of what would be coming in the years ahead in terms of did I want to stay sort of stationary in that mainstream kind of news environment, or did I want to go out into a – into a different one with a different set of values and priorities? And the choice was pretty clear, and the people with whom I could go with on that adventure would be the finest ones I could find. And these are those people.Keith Olbermann joins an outstanding lineup of programming that shines a light where others won't dare and boldly explores important subjects -- opening minds, sparking conversations and forming deep connections with its viewers.
– It's official: Keith Olbermann is headed to Current TV. The announcement on the Current TV website calls the former MSNBC host a "great provocateur" and says he'll bring his "slashing wit, analytical eye, and distinctive commentary" to a nightly primetime news and commentary show. Olbermann will also be Chief News Officer for the company. His new show starts at an undisclosed date later this year. Insiders had previously told the New York Times that Olbermann, who abruptly left MSNBC last month, would make the move. He'll also have an equity stake in the channel founded by Al Gore and other independent backers. The five-year-old channel, which is only available in some 60 million homes, consists largely of YouTube-style submissions and would receive a major boost from the presence of Olbermann, whose exit deal from MSNBC requires him to stay off TV for an agreed-upon length of time, believed to be close to six months. In a statement, Olbermann calls Current TV "the model truth-seeking entity" and calls this opportunity "the most exciting venture in my career."