Felix Gillette of the New York Observer writes Wednesday that some CNBC staff members such as Ted David are interested in working for their former boss, Roger Ailes, who is now in charge of getting Fox Business Network off the ground.
Gillette wrote, “To date, Fox execs have said little in public about their vision for the new network, nor about their strategy for taking on CNBC. Mr. David said he had heard of no specific plans for FBN. His attraction is based on faith. ‘Anybody who tries to second-guess Roger Ailes is nuts,’ he said. ‘I’m sure whatever it is, it’s carefully thought out and he knows exactly what he’s doing. I know what kind of a great mind he has in terms of running television.’
“In preparing for the challenge from FBN, CNBC has recently improved its on-air graphics, beefed up its online presence and cultivated a number of hit personality and talk shows—most notably, Mad Money With Jim Cramer.
“Still, doubts persist about CNBC’s programming strategy. Not long ago, in an apparent attempt to break new ground, the network aired a game show of sorts: Fast Money MBA Challenge, in which teams of business-school students square off in Jeopardy-style competitions. But ratings were lackluster and did little to inspire much faith in the network brass’ ability to create hits.”
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