Pat Kiernan. (Photo via NY1).
NY1 morning anchor Pat Kiernan's CNBC show Crowd Rules has been pulled off of the primetime schedule after just two weeks due to poor ratings, The New York Post reported (and Mr. Kiernan read on this morning's "In the Papers" segment). The business competition show, which was co-hosted by jewelery designer Kendra Scott, featured three small companies competing for $50,000 to save their business.
Just last week, a CNBC rep told the Post that the network was sticking with the show, despite the fact that it only got 47,000 viewers for the May 14 premiere episode.
“While the ratings were laughably low, the advantage of being first in business worldwide during the day is that you can have patience at night,” the Post quoted a CNBC rep as saying. But apparently it wasn't actually all that patient. Although the show has been pulled from the primetime line-up, there is still hope that CNBC will find a home for the six as yet unaired episodes, wrote The Hollywood Reporter.
"I agree that the ratings were dismal. But it's a good show with a nice mission that is capable of drawing a respectable audience if given time to grow," Mr. Kiernan told us via email. "There are 30 million small businesses in America. If one percent of those entrepreneurs found the show we'd have a number we could work with."
So what's next for the NY1 morning fixture?
"I guess my first response to that question is that there doesn't need to be an immediate answer. I love my NY1 gig," Mr. Kiernan said. Last Fall, Mr. Kiernan tried out to replace Regis Philbin on Live! With Kelly but the position ultimately went to former Giants defensive end Michael Strahan. "My desire to stretch my legs in other areas of programming shouldn't be interpreted as dissatisfaction with my morning job."
And there is always Jeopardy.
"I remain vigilant on the Jeopardy front," Mr. Kiernan told us. "At some point Alex will opt to retire and they'll have to find another Canadian to take over."
And then there is always the possibility of expanding the morning slot into something longer.
"Other partially developed ideas: I've brainstormed with my NY1 colleague Jamie Shupak about how we could best package our on-air chemistry for consumption in segments longer than 30 seconds," said Mr. Kiernan. "Also—I remain convinced that there's a way to meld 'In the Papers' with the sensibility of The Daily Show and do a funny but factual review of the day's news."