Keith Olbermann has found a new cable home: Current TV.

The cable network announced that the incendiary former top-rated MSNBC host will helm a new nightly prime-time news and commentary show that will debut sometime later this year.

Olbermann was also named chief news officer of Current TV and will receive an equity stake in the company. Current TV, founded in part by former Vice President Al Gore, began in 2005 and now has international branches in the U.K., Italy and South Africa.

"Nothing is more vital to a free America than a free media, and nothing is more vital to my concept of a free media than news produced independently of corporate interference," Olbermann said in a press release.

"In Current Media, Al Gore and Joel Hyatt have created the model truth-seeking entity. The opportunity to partner with Al, Joel and Mark Rosenthal makes this the most exciting venture in my career."

In a conference call with reporters, Olbermann said his comments about a free and independent media weren't "directed at my nine full-time previous employers."

"There is nothing wrong with people making money and corporations being involved in covering information, provided there is an avenue in which those marketing forces are not the deciding factor in what we are doing," he said."

Olbermann anchored his final 'Countdown' on MSNBC Jan. 21, then abruptly announced his departure from the network.

Just a couple months before his exit, Olbermann was suspended by MSNBC for making donations to the campaigns of Democratic House members Raul Grijalva and Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona, along with Kentucky Senate contender Jack Conway. Since they weren't cleared by the network first, the donations violated MSNBC policy.

Olbermann told reporters he didn't "want to imply that there were massive repressive forces working against individual stories. This is the time for me in my career to continue to evolve, to continue to do a better job, and what is required is an opportunity to work in a much more pristine environment. Not to criticize what is being done elsewhere."

On the call, Gore called Olbermann "one of the unfettered voices on TV" and a "great fit with Current in every way."

But Olbermann's fans may have trouble finding his new show on the dial. Current TV is available in 60 million homes, versus MSNBC's 85 million. Plus, while MSNBC is a basic cable channel, Current TV is generally only available to digital cable subscribers. Still, if Current TV can attract some of Olbermann's former 'Countdown' viewers (about 1 million a night), it can only boost their own meager audience (about 23,000 a night).


Tell us: Do you like this move? Will you watch Olbermann on Current TV?