• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, November 9, 2010

Looking for the intersection of Keith Olbermann and Conan O'Brien this particular November week: Keith Olbermann leaves -- and comes back. Conan O'Brien leaves -- and comes back.

First, Olbermann. If Fox News, and everyone on earth has a political opinion, and some on-air TV news personalities offer up political donations, should we care? More importantly, do advertisers care? Nah.

Sure, this isn't 1960, 1980, or even 1990. Commentary in all forms -- including the likes of Comedy Central's Jon Stewart -- has been blurring the lines. But it's "comedy," not "news." Then again, with Olbermann, it's "commentary" -- again, not "news."

Perhaps his timing -- at least according to Politico -- is bad. Olbermann interviewing a Democrat Congressman on the same day he allegedly made a contribution to that candidate seems a little off.

We now know this much: Olbermann's on-air persona is a lot like his off-air persona.

O'Brien? First you may wonder if O'Brien made any inappropriate political contributions. I don't think TBS cares all that much. The better question is whether O'Brien's off-broadcast (cable) persona will be like his broadcast persona. We're pretty sure it will be when the ex-NBCer starts his talk show this week on TBS.

That brings up to the money. The cable incarnation of the O'Brien show, according to reports, is getting the exact same advertising pricing as it did as a network show -- $30,000 to $40,000 for a 30-second unit. (By the way, we wonder, does this include bonus weight? Reruns inventory? Other bookkeeping adjustments to buying other TBS prime-time inventory?).

We know he won't be getting the same exact audience. O'Brien's 3.5 million viewers will almost certainly drop to around 1.5 million on cable on a regular basis (but not in the initial week, when promotion should up the numbers of curious viewers). Many of O'Brien's viewers will be much younger than for his broadcast show, and more valuable to advertisers.

Back to Olbermann: Why is MSNBC returning Olbermann to his post so soon? Advertising. "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" has generally been MSNBC's highest-rated show among 25-54 audiences and total viewers. I'm guessing MSNBC -- still in a decent growth phase -- wants to keeps its advertisers happy. That's an easy financial decision.

Another positive trend should benefit both shows. Currently, TV advertising for national cable and broadcast networks have seen scatter prices rocketing 20% to 30% or more over the 2010-2011 TV season pricing set last summer.

It's November, and Christmas is just around the corner. But no one wants to wait for any gifts.