A lack of big-name guests and the discussion format of “Opening Bell with Maria Bartiromo” resulted in a slow start for the new Fox Business Network show, which debuted Monday, reports Linette Lopez of Business Insider.
Lopez writes, “On day one Bartiromo booked Jon Hilsenrath, the Wall Street Journal reporter known for Federal Reserve scoops; Bank of America Head of U.S. Equity Savita Subramanian; Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher; and Mario Gabelli, CEO of GAMCO investments. All of these folks are interesting people with large followings, but they aren’t necessarily market movers (read: headline-makers).
“Plus, Gabelli was on Bloomberg TV Jan. 22nd. Wall Street has seen him since the “hey, this ain’t 2013’s 30%-market anymore” discussion that’s dominating headlines these days.
“Meanwhile, CNBC booked Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam (telecoms — so hot right now), former European Central Bank President Jean Claude Trichet (everyone’s talking about eurozone inflation), and economist Larry Summers (he was a frontrunner for Fed chair) for Monday morning.
“Booking day one isn’t something you can do over again, but our second issue with the show — Bartiromo’s comfort with its slightly more discussion-heavy format — will likely improve with time. For now, it’s not quite lively enough to keep viewers from switching back to their regularly scheduled programming.”
