|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
NEW YORK (CBS.MW) - The 1952 movie "High Noon" was a classic and it remains a metaphor for our times. Listen up, all of you followers of "Wall Street Week" and Louis Rukeyser.
The film, says a Web site called Filmsite.org, tells the tale of a "lone, stoic, honor-bound marshal/hero who was left desolate and abandoned by the Hadleyville townspeople he was sworn to protect, thereby sparing the civilized town the encroachment of barbaric frontier justice..." Granted, Rukeyser, an urbane, silver-haired wordsmith who sometimes seems equally bloated in body and ego, will never be confused with the likes of Gary Cooper, the lean, rugged hero in "High Noon" (and, while we're at it, Rukeyser will never be described as stoic, either). But American TV viewers will get a confrontation worthy of "High Noon" tonight at 8:30 Eastern. That's when Rukeyser returns to television with the debut of "Louis Rukeyser's Wall Street" on CNBC (GE: news, chart, profile). Television wars Rukeyser's new show kicks off the latest chapter in the television wars and it will test the value of star power in the media. It also underscores the many challenges facing AOL Time Warner, the world's largest media and Internet company, as it tries, once again, to extend its brand name to affluent Americans. Finally, the arrival of Rukeyser also may turn out to be a godsend for CNBC, a unit of General Electric, which has tried resolutely -- but not very successfully -- to establish a beachhead in primetime TV. Rukeyser, remember, was abruptly shoved off "Wall Street Week," the popular program he hosted for 32 years - on Friday nights at 8:30. He was truly left desolate and abandoned by Maryland Public Television, the employer he was sworn to protect, thereby sparing civilized investors the encroachment of AOL Time Warner (AOL: news, chart, profile). AOL's Fortune magazine is now shaping the Rukeyser-less "Wall Street Week." Geoffrey Colvin, a top editor, will be one of the two new anchors of "Wall Street Week with Fortune," as the show is being re-named, beginning June 29. The other host has yet to be named. "Wall Street Week" has terrific reach to wealthy Americans, who avidly follow the stock market. AOL Time Warner would like to cross-market its flagship online service and such magazines as Fortune and Money to them and its connection to the new show gives them this opportunity. Friday showdown Will Rukeyser's audience follow him to his new digs? Rukeyser had a steady audience of a few million viewers each week. Whether the stock market was up or down or sideways, Maryland Public Television could count on those viewers every Friday night. They tuned into see and hear Rukeyser preen, discourse, pontificate, explain, praise and dismiss news, trends and fads with a characteristic twinkle in his eye and good-natured wit. (For the record, my favorite "Wall Street Week" episode aired in the summer of 1989 when Rukeyser scored the coup of assembling a panel consisting of Citigroup (C: news, chart, profile) Chairman Sandy Weill, Charles Schwab, the head of the company bearing his name, and noted securities industry analyst, the late Perrin Long. I still have a videotape of that show). Maryland Public Television wanted to update the Rukeyser. Now it will get the chance. "There was never anything wrong with PBS wanting to change and update Rukeyser's show," said Robert Thompson, a professor at Syracuse University who specializes in television. "You could practically hear the ticker-tape in the background." The notion of Rukeyser opposing Colvin & Co. is only one juicy showdown. Rukeyser's new pals at CNBC, and its parent company of General Electric, are also opposing MPT's new buddies at AOL Time Warner. These foes are old rivals, as AOL Time Warner's "Moneyline" on CNN also goes up against CNBC weekday nights. Rukeyser was so noticeably angry at his former employer when he appeared recently on "Larry King Live," on AOL Time Warner's CNN network, that he did everything but put a pox on Maryland Public Television's house. For its part, CNBC has been trying very hard to publicize the arrival of Rukeyser. It has been airing advertisements for the "LEGENDARY" Rukeyser (CNBC's word) throughout the week, seemingly as often as it has posted the prices of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq. In case you've forgotten about Rukeyser since he last hosted "Wall Street Week" a few weeks ago, CNBC said in a news release that he "will begin the program with his acclaimed personal commentary, offering his inimitable blend of wit and wisdom." (If I ever win a Nobel Prize, I want CNBC's publicists to write the speech that introduces me). The executives at Maryland Public Television prefer to shrug off Rukeyser's departure. Jeff Hankin, a spokesman for Maryland Public Television, said: "The ratings have been holding very steady" since Rukeyser left and "there has been an increase in positive responses since we started using guest hosts." (Full disclosure time: One of the guest hosts has been Marshall Loeb, a senior columnist for CBS MarketWatch.com). For the first show on CNBC, Rukeyser is bringing out the heavy artillery. His special guest is none other than Abby Joseph Cohen of Goldman Sachs (GS: news, chart, profile), arguably the most famous stock market strategist on Wall Street as well as the most bullish equities analyst anywhere. The CNBC show has underwriters and no commercials, like all those years at Maryland Public Television. "It's going extremely well," said CNBC spokeswoman Alison Rudnick. She declined to offer any details about the underwriters for the show. Rukeyser's new venture is no slam-dunk, in terms of success, despite his massive popularity and pedigree. It's always a risk to change networks for an established TV veteran. Viewers, like everyone else, are creatures of habit and Rukeyser's fans may or may not slavishly follow him to a new channel. Rukeyser may find a smaller audience than before because his show is appearing on a cable TV channel on Friday nights. It will also be shown at 8:30 Pacific on CNBC. In addition, Public Broadcasting stations can air the Rukeyser show beginning at midnight. It'll be distributed by WLIW, a public broadcasting station out of Long Island. "The Rukeyser show is a form of entertainment," said Thompson of Syracuse University. "It shouldn't be preserved in a museum. Financial programming seems to belong on CNBC. But PBS had tradition on its side." Thompson expects CNBC to benefit from having Rukeyser on its show - but it may take time to see the results. "My guess is that the Rukeyser show's ratings numbers will be a little lower than they had been," Thompson said. "A lot of people who watched him on 'Wall Street Week' every Friday night will have to find CNBC on their cable dial. Now CNBC will have a signature show on primetime. If the new show is good, CNBC wins. It all depends on the content." Media Web Question of the Week: Which show will you watch, "Wall Street Week" or "Louis Rukeyser's Wall Street?" E-mail me at jfriedman@marketwatch.com and let me know. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
