Spurned PBS veteran Louis Rukeyser is joining CNBC to host a new weekly show,
Louis Rukeyser's Wall Street.
Rukeyser, 69, ended his 32-year run on public TV in March after Maryland
Public Television, which produced Wall $treet with Louis Rukeyser, tossed
him from the show.
Rukeyser will make his CNBC debut April 19 at 8:30 p.m. ET, the same as his
former PBS slot.
Some PBS viewers, though, will still be able to see him; CNBC will make the
showavailable to PBS outlets one or two days after its initial play.
Long Island, New York's PBS outlet WLIW-TV will distribute the show.
CNBC is seeking underwriters to sponsor the show, planning only to air
commercials at the top and bottom of the half hour.
MPT, claiming that Rukeyser was sacked based on viewer input, is replacing
him with Wall $treet Week with Fortune, hosted by Fortune
editorial director Geoffrey Colvin, 48, and a woman yet to be chosen.
Rukeyser said he was "forgetting brief interlude with recent recruits to
public TV who made bad decisions" and looking forward to building a cable
following.
On PBS, Rukeyser attracted 3 million viewers. CNBC, in contrast, currently
attracts about 127,000 viewers to the Friday 8 p.m. slot.
Rukeyser also will make occasional appearances on CNBC's Business Day.
The length of the deal and financial terms were not disclosed.
