Current TV Builds Morning Lineup Around Bill Press, Stephanie Miller

Current TV adds the the two progressive talk-radio hosts to its lineup, filling out six more hours of its schedule

Current TV will bank on progressive talk radio hosts Bill Press and Stephanie Miller to lure viewers in the morning. The network will live simulcast the radio programs of those two talkers for three hours each Monday through Friday, it announced on Monday.

Press’ show will air from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. E.T. while Miller’s will run from 9 a.m. to noon E.T.

“I’ve followed Stephanie and Bill for years. They provide the kind of smart, insightful news analysis that our viewers want to hear,” Current TV Chairman Al Gore said in a statement.  “Bill brings a vital perspective directly from the heart of the Beltway, and Stephanie’s fresh take on politics and news has a decidedly outsider flair.  We’re really looking forward to bringing their voices to our viewers.”

Press, a one-time chairman of the California Democratic Party, has had his show since 2005. Miller is a long-time radio and TV show host, and MSNBC simulcast her show briefly in 2007.

The addition of these shows goes a long way towards filling out Current’s new lineup in time for the 2012 election. The network began with Keith Olbermann’s “Countdown” at 8 p.m. and then surrounded him in primetime with “Young Turks” host Cenk Uygur and former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm.

CEO Joel Hyatt and President David Bohrman had said the morning would be the next step, and he took a shot at the other cable news morning shows in announcing his new hosts. 

"2012 is a crucial year in the history of our country and we felt that morning cable television programming was simply not speaking to Americans with progressive viewpoints and ideas,” he said in a statement. “This new block will be an alternative to the tired banter and light news that is found on the air today. We are proud to be the only cable news network presenting independent, intelligent and engaging progressive programming for viewers every morning.”

Now the question is: Will people will watch?

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