Current TV CEO Mark Rosenthal spoke to Ad Week about Keith Olbermann and “Countdown'”s ratings. As we reported this week, ratings for week two were down from week one, but Rosenthal is not concerned. If anything, he seems happy that Current is being mentioned:
“Numbers are going to go up and they’re going to go down,” Rosenthal said of the decline. “It’s a marathon for us. And the show will build over time as more and more people continue to find Current, or continue to demand Current and cable operators continue to add it.” Current is confident enough in Olbermann’s viewership that Rosenthal says the network is making ratings guarantees to ad buyers.”
Rosenthal also notes that Current does not have carriage parity with its competitors, available in roughly 30 million fewer homes than MSNBC.