Keith Olbermann Returns To ESPN After 16 Years To Get A Fresh Start; Was Once Considered A Highly Controversial Personality On ESPN

Keith Olbermann, who severed ties with ESPN 16 years back, is returning to the network with a late-night show called “Olbermann.”

The show, which will run from Monday through Friday, will mostly be a mix of interviews, commentary, panel discussions and sports highlights, and will air on ESPN2 from August 26, the sports network said in a report on Wednesday.

"I'm overwhelmed by the chance to begin anew with ESPN,” Olbermann said in a news release cited by ESPN. “I've been gone for 16 years and not one day in that time has passed without someone connecting me to the network. Our histories are indelibly intertwined and frankly I have long wished that I had the chance to make sure the totality of that story would be a completely positive one."

Olbermann’s first stint with ESPN -- between 1992 and 1997 -- was riddled with controversies, stemming from his unauthorized appearance on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show,” and also for referring to ESPN's Bristol, Conn., headquarters as a "'Godforsaken place."

Olbermann's frequent confrontations with the channel's management led to him cutting ties with the network, but he decided to come back to make amends, New York Daily News reported Olbermann as saying, during a telephonic press conference on Wednesday.

“I don’t want that (the way it ended at ESPN) to be in my obituary,” Olbermann said. “I don’t want that to be the end of the story... I could apologize a thousand times, but all that’s going to make a difference is how I conduct myself. I don’t have to be, in theory, apologetic or hoping to make amends. But I can just go out and do it now — and I intend to.”

Olbermann, who made a name for himself as a political commentator after leaving ESPN, said he would steer clear of politics on his new show, unless it is regarding sports.