Keith Olbermann Leaves MSNBC
To view our videos, you need to
enable JavaScript. Learn how.
install Adobe Flash 9 or above. Install now.
Then come back here and refresh the page.
Keith Olbermann, the controversial host of MSNBC's "Countdown," abruptly announced his departure at the end of last night's show.
The cable news network's officials released a statement saying that they and Olbermann decided to end his contract, but no further explanation was given.
In saying goodbye, Olbermann thanked his fans for sticking with him through good times and bad, especially over the last few years.
"There were many occasions particularly in the last two-and-a-half years where all that surrounded the show, but never the show itself, was just too much for me," said Olbermann. "But your support and loyalty and, if I may use the word, insistence, ultimately required that I keep going."
Olbermann was suspended for two days last November for donating money to Democratic candidates, a violation of NBC News policy.
He later claimed he was being punished for violating what he called an "inconsistently applied" rule he had known nothing about.