O.J. Simpson, the former football star, actor and TV pitchman who has been in jail since 2008 on armed robbery, assault with a deadly weapon and kidnapping convictions, appeared live in his parole hearing from Lovelock, Nevada, and was granted parole by the board in a unanimous decision.

He could be released from prison as early as October of 2017.

Coverage has been extensive. There are reports that more than 240 media credentials have been issued for the hearing it was broadcast live on television and online.

Simpson -- now Nevada prison inmate No. 1027820 -- was sentenced to nine to 30 years after an armed confrontation in a Las Vegas hotel over sports memorabilia he claimed was his.

Simpson is incarcerated in Lovelock Correctional Center in Nevada, about 90 miles northeast of Reno. The four-person parole board is in Carson City, Nev., and the hearing will be conducted via video conference from the prison.

Simpson could be released as early as October if he gets parole, which legal experts say is likely.

The former NFL star, 70, was acquitted in the 1995 criminal trial for the 1994 murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman.

Check out the broadcast details:

What: O.J. Simpson's parole hearing.

When: 10 a.m. (Pacific) Thursday, July 20.

Where: Nevada. Simpson is in Lovelock Correctional Facility.

TV: ESPN, HLN (Headline News).

Online: CBSN.