Loud-mouthed former tennis ace John McEnroe has signed on with CNBC to host a new prime-time show beginning this spring. The nightly show will feature McEnroe and an unnamed ensemble team dishing on the day’s top stories.
Jeff Zucker, president of NBC entertainment, news and cable group, said Wednesday that McEnroe was initially approached to do a show for Bravo, but it morphed into a CNBC deal. The show will air at 10 p.m. ET and lead-out of Dennis Miller’s new 9 p.m. show, which debuts Jan. 26.
Prime time has been a struggle for CNBC in recent years, pulling in around a dismal 0.2 rating. That’s lower than struggling sister net MSNBC. Now, with two new prime time shows, CNBC is making an effort to rebuild.
Says Zucker, who recently added the news nets to his purview, "The goal at CNBC prime is to establish 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. We are going to let those two shows find their way."
