He will attend seven races with German broadcaster RTL, as well as the Australian GP with Channel 10, and is in talks about other potential work that fits his schedule.
His RTL commitment is weighted towards the second half of the season, with Bahrain followed by Hungary, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, Azerbaijan and Las Vegas.
The 58-year-old had his first taste of TV punditry at last year’s NASCAR event at COTA, where he performed a similar role on a visit to the USA between F1 events.
"I'm just what they call the expert commentator, like in the good old days Niki Lauda did,” Steiner told Autosport.
“It came together very quickly. They texted me last Sunday, asking if I was interested. We talked on Monday, they had a meeting between themselves, and on Tuesday, they asked if I could do it. I said, 'Sure, why not?'.
“It's just they were looking for somebody, and I think they want to rejuvenate a little bit their programme, not always the same people, and just came up with my name, and I spoke with them.
“As I always say, my life is always full of surprises. When people asked me in January ‘What are you going to do now?’ I said, ‘I'm not worried about what I'm going to do. I mean, I don't know what is coming.’ And these things came.”
Source: Autosport