“Wall Street Week,” an investing show relaunched in April 2015 by money manager Anthony Scaramucci, announced earlier this week that it would begin appearing each Friday night on Fox Business Network.
The show will appear on Fridays at 8 p.m. It will re-air on Saturday and Sunday at 9 a.m. and 9:30 a.m.
Originally hosted by Louis Rukeyser, “Wall Street Week” aired on PBS each Friday night for 35 years, from 1970 to 2005. At its peak, the show aired on more than 300 stations nationwide.
SkyBridge Capital founder Scaramucci bought the rights to the show and had it developed by a SkyBridge capital affiliate. “Wall Street Week” has been airing for one half-hour every Sunday morning on local television stations in major U.S. markets including New York City, Washington D.C., Chicago and San Francisco.
Scaramucci joined Fox Business as a contributor in 2014. Prior to founding SkyBridge, Scaramucci co-founded Oscar Capital Management, which was sold to Neuberger Berman in 2001. He was also a vice president in Private Wealth Management at Goldman Sachs & Co. He holds a B.A. in Economics from Tufts University and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.
The show will be co-hosted by Gary Kaminsky, who regularly appears on “Mornings with Maria” on Fox Business and recently joined the network as a contributor. Previously, Kaminsky was CNBC’s capital markets editor and a regular contributor to “Squawk Box” and “Squawk on the Street.” He was also one of the original guest hosts of “Squawk Box.”
Scaramucci spoke with Talking Biz News by email about making the switch to Fox Business. What follows is an edited transcript.
Why did you decide that the show should be on Fox Business Network?
Cutting edge programming. Fastest growing cable news channel for the obvious reasons. But the less obvious one is that their goal is to deliver jargon free information and insight in a way that can help people prosper, so I thought this is the perfect fit for me.
Are there resources at Fox Business that you can tap into that you previously did not have?
Yes, of course. They have the best programmers and producers in the industry. The set is fantastic but the best part of it is the talent. We can now draw from some of the elite newscasters, like Maria Bartiromo and Neil Cavuto.
Will the show change any from what it has been doing in the past year?
I hope so. Shows have to constantly change and be kept fresh and current with the times. We are planning to stick to our original format of getting inside the minds of some of the most talented people in our industry. I am confident that over time together we are going to grow our audience and make people want to watch.
How has the show changed and evolved since when you launched in April 2015?
Our graphics and set have been enhanced. Our content hasn’t changed, and we don’t expect it to in the beginning but my guess is we will make changes in order to continue to deliver an exceptional product.
Are there areas of the show that you’d like to improve upon?
Lighting and graphics would be two things, but with the move to Fox studios that is now being taken care of. I am hoping that we can broaden our our guest list now that we have national distribution.
How have you remained faithful to the Rukeyser version of the show?
I am hoping that he would have been proud of what we have done. We did do away with his early monologue as the world has changed and people now get that information from other sources. However, I do think we have conserved his mission to discuss anything and everything that affects their world of investing.
Why do you think a show like this is needed on television?
We have business shows that discuss the ticker. I like watching them and find them relevant. We want this show to be about how the world ticks. We also want to have some of the brightest minds in the industry give us their two cents in an in depth forum..
What have you learned in the past year doing the show?
Listen listen listen. The best hosts listen to their guests and get them comfortable sharing in a way as if they were in their own living room. I am still working on it but that is the ultimate goal.
Do you foresee Fox Business anchors and reporters appearing on the show?
We do, and we are very excited about it. Fox Business has an A-list roster of business anchors to draw from, and we expect to see them on our show. We like getting as much as help as we can.
How do you keep the show fresh and non-repetitive each week?
I think it is by thinking about guests that people want to hear from on topics that affect their world. If we do that each week our audience is going to grow. We want to create a show that we want to watch and sense we are business people first and anchors second. I am hoping to accomplish that.
