First off, a thanks to Keith Olbermann for all that he does.
In the months and years to come Current TV is planning to expand their lineup and create a news network with a solid market share. Considering msnbc was hardly a blip on the ratings sheet before Olbermann came on and showed his true values. Then he groomed new personalities for their own shows, most notably Rachel Maddow holding the 9pm slot. Can he build up a cable tv channel a third time? I have full confidence in him. If Current TV was public I would be eager to invest.
So here is my curiosity, what will the future hold for Current TV's lineup? A question no one has a solid answer to yet.
Keith holds down the 8pm slot very well (as he always has). My guess is that they will add Cenk at the 7pm slot and try to woo Maddow over to the network in her same 9pm slot. Chris Hayes just got a show on msnbc so I would assume he's out for a while. They also appear to be getting Melissa Harris-Perry ready for her own show so she is likely out.
Ed Schultz is probably not the best fit for Current TV (although I enjoy his show). But what about Thom Hartmann? Hartmann is one of the best Progressive communicators we have. He currently has an 8PM show on RT News but the carriage is limited, I believe to only a few million homes (sadly I don't get it). If not a prime time show then how about simulcasting his radio show with video on Current from noon until 3pm? This would be taking a page out of msnbc's early days when they aired Imus in the Morning's radio program. It would be inexpensive programming and increase Current's overall ratings. Hartmann's radio audience also grew from around 1.5m weekly to 2m weekly listeners.
Arianna Huffington seems pretty busy these days running AOL Media/The Huffington Post but how about a news/current affairs show from 3-6pm? Although her online news network grew in large part due to her contributing on multiple news platforms, something that might not work as efficiently for her if she had her own show.
I know I'm leaving out plenty of wonderful Progressives who would do a great job anchoring a show on Current TV but I wanted to keep it short.
Who would you like to see on Current TV?