primetime show on Current TV, the cable television network founded by former vice president Al Gore and businessman Joel Hyatt; in April it was announced that the show would retain the Countdown title. Olbermann also became Current TV's "Chief News Officer" and bought an equity stake in the network. On May 11, Olbermann announced that Daily Kos founder Markos Moulitsas, filmmakers Michael Moore and Ken Burns, and comedian Richard Lewis would become contributors to the new Countdown. During a June 16 interview on NBC's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Olbermann further announced that journalists Matt Taibbi and Jeremy Scahill, former Nixon administration official and author John Dean, actor Donald Sutherland, and astronomer Derrick Pitts would also be contributors. On June 20, Countdown debuted on Current TV, concluding with an abbreviated "Special Comment" in which Olbermann outlined his mission statement, quoting Harriet Beecher Stowe. The program drew 179,000 viewers, a significant increase from Current TV's typical 30,000 viewership; it drew more viewers than CNN in the key 25-54 audience demographic. Countdown continued to beat CNN in the 25-54 demo throughout its first week on Current TV. Countdown saw a drop in ratings in its second week, but sustained an audience of 310,000 total viewers by September. The show was taped at NEP Studio 33. For the first two weeks of its Current TV run, Countdown ran slightly longer than an hour at sixty-three minutes in a covert effort to erode MSNBC's viewership. However, Olbermann changed his mind and reverted the running time to the usual sixty minutes, realizing the move "would only serve to annoy fans of" both Countdown and Rachel Maddow's MSNBC show while doing nothing to improve the ratings for his own program. By the fall of 2011, Olbermann came into conflict with Current TV management over production values and creative control and nearly left the network. Second cancellation On March 30, 2012, Current TV terminated its contract with Olbermann, thereby cancelling Countdown for a second time. In its statement, Current TV cited Olbermann's implied lack of "respect, openness, collegiality, and loyalty to our viewers." Internal sources reported that Olbermann's repeated absences, his failure to promote Current TV, and disparaging public comments he had made about the network contributed to the decision to fire him. Olbermann called Current TV's claims "untrue" and sued the network for breach-of-contract, demanding $50 million in damages. A counter-suit by Current TV cited Olbermann's