Despite the conciliatory tone, Olbermann’s team was not satisfied. Countdown had been “a daily logistical nightmare dating back to the very first rehearsals,” Price wrote back. The response showed “how completely out of touch you and Current management are with the realities of producing a first-rate show.” Viewers were even complaining that they couldn’t record the show because of incorrect settings being provided for DVR machines. The whole atmosphere “more closely resembles cable access than that of a cable news show,” and the problems were “causing low ratings … The show’s production values have actually gotten worse, not better.”

Olbermann never came close to the more than 1 million viewers he had averaged at MSNBC, but his Current show was drawing more than 100,000 in the prized 25-to-54 age group last summer—and that gradually dwindled to 30,000…

After Borman insisted that Olbermann work March 5, Price said he was being highly unprofessional. He wrote that Current had failed to provide a list of acceptable guest hosts (except for Eliot Spitzer, who was unavailable). They would not stand for preempting Countdown or allowing an unapproved guest host, Price said, and “ultimately a jury” might have to decide whether replacing Countdown that night was a breach of contract.

From Olbermann’s perspective, this was a period when he was battling a throat infection, and he was concerned that being on the air March 5 might cause him to lose his voice during three hours of live coverage the next evening. In fact, he was so concerned about his voice that he all but stopped speaking when he wasn’t on the air, forcing those around him to communicate with him by email.