Keith Olbermann -- The Rich Get Richer

Keith Olbermann scored an even sweeter exit package than previously reported. Sources connected with NBC tells us Keith is pocketing "well in excess" of $7 million.

Sources tell us ... Olbermann was due for two salary hikes during the last two years of his contract, which would have netted him just over $17 million. The exit deal, we're told, gives Keith much more than $7 million, though our sources would not be more specific.

And we're told ... Olbermann agreed as part of his exit deal not to do television, but our sources say he'll be benched for less than 4 1/2 months. Conan O'Brien had to sit out twice that amount of time.

And speaking of Conan, we're told attorney Patty Glaser, who negotiated Conan's exit from the same network, did the heavy lifting for Keith, along with his agent and manager. We're told negotiations for the exit went on for seven weeks.

Keith Olbermann -- Fired By MSNBC

Keith Olbermann was fired by MSNBC sources tell TMZ, and we're told it had everything to do with Comcast's acquisition of NBC.

Sources connected with the network tell us ... Comcast honchos did not like Keith's defiance and the way he played in the sandbox.

Our sources say Keith has around two years left on his contract, and he'll be paid his salary -- around $7 million a year.

We don't know if Comcast will let Keith make a deal with another network as part of an exit agreement, but it's a good bet he'll be benched for a minimum of 6 months, and probably longer.

Keith Olbermann Abruptly Leaves MSNBC

Keith Olbermann and MSNBC are going their separate ways ... effective immediately ... the liberal cable host announced tonight in a shocking move.

MSNBC issued a statement saying they had ended its contract with Olbermann, who hosted the top rated show on the network.

The statement read in part, "MSNBC thanks Keith for his integral role in MSNBC's success and we wish him well in his future endeavors." A spokesman went on to say that Comcast's acquisition of NBC Universal had nothing to do with the decision.

Olbermann was suspended for two days in November for violating a network rule on political donations.

Lawrence O'Donnell, who hosts a show on the network at 10:00 PM, will fill Olbermann's 8:00 PM slot beginning Monday.

Piers Morgan's CNN Blacklist Expands to Include Madonna, Heather Mills, Keith Olbermann

Piers Morgan is cool with the Kardashians and Kid Rock, but the CNN host has a growing list of celebrities that he's supposedly banning from his new show.

Morgan told the Daily Express Madonna was simply "too Vegan for TV." He went on to say, "We have Lady Gaga now so Madonna is banned from my show." Ouch.

Liz Rosenberg, the Queen of Pop's publicist, fired back, telling PopEater's Rob Shuter exclusively, "Madonna doesn't know who Piers Morgan is, but she's a big fan of Lady Gaga."

But Madge isn't the only famous person Piers is barring from 'Piers Morgan Tonight.' According to EW's Popwatch, the outspoken Brit has officially uninvited other big names, including Heather Mills, Keith Olbermann, Cherie Blair and Howie Mandel, from ever appearing during his primetime hour.

Morgan claims he introduced Heather Mills to Paul McCartney at the 1999 Daily Mirror Pride of Britain Awards, where he brought them both to the event. "Paul takes her out on a date, next they get engaged, next thing they get married, it's all very happy and hunky-dory and then she takes him tot he cleaners, and I realized I'd pushed one of the world's great gold diggers in the direction of one of my heroes," Morgan said. "And as Paul puts it to his close friends, 'Thanks, Piers, you cost me 50 million dollars.' So for those reasons and by way of any tiny reparation I can make to Macca, she has a lifetime ban."

He claims his ban on Olbermann is just "a temporary ban, designed to confuse and bemuse him, and hopefully engender a violent reaction.

Former Prime Minister Tony Blair's wife Cherie is banned "simply because it would get violent. She would attack [him.] And Howie Mandel is "just too irritating."

Morgan sure knows how to stir the pot! The former 'Britain's Got Talent' host said he will allow Madonna to appear on his show only if she makes a "formal apology" for "all the grief she's caused [him] by being Madonna."