• Ad Age, Tuesday, May 2, 2006 11:15 AM

CNBC's President Lauds Both Jim Cramer And Donny Deutsch Ad Age does a quick Q&A with Mark Hoffman, the CNBC president whom it credits with helping boost the ratings of the business cable channel. While viewership remains comparatively small, the quality of the CNBC audience is what appeals to advertisers. They can reach the corporate boardroom by spending on CNBC's shows. Hoffman explains in this Q&A his various programming moves over the last year, saying the strategy was sometimes difficult to pull off because several of his live broadcasts had to appeal equally to prime afternoon and evening viewers on both Coasts. The key to the build, however, seems to have been the greenlighting of "Mad Money," the Jim Cramer-hosted show about investing. Another program that Hoffman seems to like is "The Big Idea," hosted by Donny Deutsch. Hoffman: "Donny is a CEO who has taken to the talk-show format. There's room for it. There is push and pull on content. There are some topics that have worked well and some that have not worked as well. That genre is a moving target but the show has doubled its audience and it's continuing to find its way. There is plenty of room for pop culture; it always comes back to money and business. I'm pleased with it."

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