Categories: OLD Media Moves

"Happy Hour" is sit com and talk show

Marketwatch media columnist Jon Friedman writes Monday that the “Happy Hour” show on the new Fox Business Network is a cross between the old Ted Danson show “Cheers” and morning talk show “Regis and Kelly.”

Friedman wrote, “The show is a central part of FBN’s daunting game plan: to make financial news fun for Main Street. Instead of reciting dry numbers in earnings reports, ‘Happy Hour’ is more likely to explain what the news means to shareholders and the general public.

“‘Happy Hour’ looks to me like the new channel’s breakout hit. Its time slot is ideal, starting an hour after the frenzy of the market close, when investors want a little entertainment after a hard day. Liz Claman‘s afternoon show will provide a slick lead-in, to boot.

“FBN could also use ‘Happy Hour’ for marketing opportunities. I wouldn’t be surprised if the show took to the road someday, heading to cities with Fox affiliates. FBN could also hold online contests to see which bar is lucky enough to host the show.”

Read more here.

Chris Roush

Chris Roush was the dean of the School of Communications at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. He was previously Walter E. Hussman Sr. Distinguished Professor in business journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is a former business journalist for Bloomberg News, Businessweek, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Tampa Tribune and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. He is the author of the leading business reporting textbook "Show me the Money: Writing Business and Economics Stories for Mass Communication" and "Thinking Things Over," a biography of former Wall Street Journal editor Vermont Royster.