Bartiromo returns to CNBC — in a commercial

Brian Steinberg of Variety reports how Fox Business Network anchor Maria Bartiromo, who left CNBC last year after 20 years, returned to the network’s airwaves in a commercial.

Steinberg writes, “In ads purchased for the New York market served by Time Warner Cable and running on CNBC, Bartiromo speaks directly to viewers from the set of Fox Business Network, telling them about her guests and the subjects she expects to discuss on ‘Opening Bell with Maria Bartiromo,’ the program she launched on FBN February 24.

‘Come on over,’ she urges the audience during the spot.

“The message is intended as a ‘change of address card’ for Bartiromo, said Kevin Magee, executive vice president of Fox Business Network. The former CNBC veteran left the NBCUniversal-owned outlet late last year for a new deal that puts her on Fox Business Network during the week and on Fox News Channel for a Sunday program that launched March 30.

“The Bartiromo spot is slated to air during CNBC’s ‘Squawk Box,’ Magee said. That program ends just before FBN’s ‘Opening Bell’ vies with CNBC’s ‘Squawk On The Street.’

“FBN is the latest to make use of a sharp-elbows technique that helps place ads in venues that might otherwise shun them. While TV networks like ABC and CNBC control their own air and can block commercials that disparage them to try to steal their viewers, they are often unable to stop ads being placed by the entities that distribute them, such as cable and satellite systems or local stations.”

Read more here.