Will Ratigan take viewers away from CNBC?

Marketwatch media columnist Jon Friedman wonders if former CNBC “Fast Money” anchor Dylan Ratigan‘s departure to MSNBC will cause the business news network to lose viewers.

Friedman writes, “In an interview Wednesday afternoon, MSNBC President Phil Griffin and Ratigan stressed they weren’t concerned about Ratigan pulling CNBC’s viewers with him to MSNBC.

“‘We thought about it,’ Griffin said. ‘It’s not an issue.’

“‘It’s a totally valid point,’ Ratigan said. ‘But we’re going to do a show about policy and politics. I think people watch CNBC (for news about) managing money. I’m not going to talk about money.’

Griffin stressed that Ratigan would help MSNBC expand its offerings by having Ratigan follow the popular ‘Morning Joe’ program, where he had done well when he appeared on behalf of CNBC to discuss Wall Street and the financial markets.

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