Behind CNBC’s reality series strategy

Sean Daly of The New York Post writes about business news network CNBC’s strategy of adding reality shows to its evening lineup.

Daly writes, “The network, under pressure from its corporate parent, Comcast, to bring in money in the hours after the market closes, hired Ackerman — who brought ‘Celebrity Fit Club’ and ‘Best Week Ever’ to the music channel VH1 — last summer to develop unscripted content for evening hours.

“Business shows have ‘all the hallmarks of great drama,’ he says. ‘fear, ambition, wins, losses. And people sort of enjoy watching transactions. They like seeing people vying to get something cheaper.’

“Ackerman’s first two series, ‘Treasure Detectives’ and ‘The Car Chasers’ premiere tomorrow night. One follows cars flipped in Las Vegas and the other features art expert Curtis Dowling, who uses science to determine if collectables are real or counterfeit.

“‘It’s one part ‘CSI,’ and one part ‘Antiques Road Show,’’ he says. ‘It’s a fresh take that is well suited for CNBC.’

“Cheap, self-contained and highly repeatable formats — like ‘Flip This House,’ ‘Bar Rescue’ and ‘Tabatha Takes Over’ — have become cash cows for other networks.

“But no business program is hotter right now than ABC’s ‘Shark Tank.’

“In its fourth season, the venture capitalist show has seen its ratings jump almost every week since moving to Friday nights.”

Read more here.