Wednesday, October 28, 2009

UK:"CNBC`s New `Green` Reality TV Series Premieres 5 November" (GE)

With ratings falling off a cliff (down 50+% over some measurement periods*) CNBC appears to have decided to just pitch G.E.'s party line, possibly an attempt by the cable top brass to keep their jobs.
From Reuters:
The Good Entrepreneur, a new `green` reality series, will premiere on 5 November
at 23.00 CET on CNBC, the leading pan-EMEA business and financial news channel.
Hosted by CNBC`s Steve Sedgwick, the four-part series will see three
entrepreneurs pitch eco-friendly business concepts to a panel of leading CEOs
and academics, each competing for a prize package valued at €250,000. The series
will air across Europe, the Middle East and Africa and South East Asia.

The series will follow each entrepreneur`s journey towards making their business
a reality. They will meet mentors, including business executives and academics,
who will offer advice and identify the strengths and weaknesses of their
business proposals.

In the series premiere, viewers will meet the show`s first contender, UK based
architect Craig White. Craig`s business idea, to build modular buildings out of
straw bales, could see homes and commercial buildings save up to 85% of heating
costs. Craig travels to London, Berlin and Lund in Sweden on his quest to gain
business insight....MORE
*Via ZeroHedge whose July comment (they track the numbers monthly) was:
The bloodbath at GE's propaganda station has reached critical levels: according to Nielsen, CNBC has lost 28% of viewers year over year, and 24% in the 25-54 age group category. This is obviously a stunning failure in an environment where the top stories on any other medium are finance and economy related. Maybe if they were to actually report objective news, Jeff Immelt would not have to scratch his head in wonderment, pondering how to generate ad revenue and something even remotely resembling positive cash flow. Then again what are the poor anchors to do since the infamous Immelt memo made the rounds....MORE
In August The Atlantic was more charitable:
...But CNBC is largely a victim of its source material. Viewership spiked after Bear Sterns' meltdown because everybody was running around like chickens with their heads cut off and CNBC was the business channel. Today, as we emerge slowly from a recession, market news is still important, but we're not as worried about the banks dragging the economy down like an anchor tied to a ballerina's ankle. For heaven's sake, even AIG is turning a profit now! Winter of our discontent made glorious summer! Only, not for CNBC (or these people.)...MORE