|
Each show has a business appeal, too. It may not be Wall Street, but the company that Allen and partner Perry Barndt, a former Hollywood stuntman, run is based on the time-honored principle of buying low and selling high. Through Barndt's connections, many of the vehicles they sell appeared on television series and in movies. Dowling's London-based business traces the history of valuable art objects to find out if they really are what an owner claims they are. Roughly 40 percent of objects on the art market are fake, he said. In the debut episode, he studies a painting claimed to be a Roy Lichtenstein original. The owner wants to give it to a plastic surgeon in return for a facelift. After an investigation that included a handwriting expert who examined the artist's signature, Dowling sat the two men down for a bit of reality show drama. The painting "is definitely (long pause for effect) the real thing," he told them. Dowling wants people to know how widespread scam artists are in a business marked by genteel manners and moneyed buyers. His evaluations can make or break fortunes. "It's a world full of pomposity and bull," he said. "All we're trying to do is fill the void. Look, it's not a mystical world. There's a process to follow." Allen said he felt comfortable working with CNBC. "I felt like I didn't have to be a character, that we could show up and be ourselves and not have to be phony," he said. CNBC is sticking to Tuesday nights for its new shows for the foreseeable future, although there may be reruns on other nights. Depending on how things go over the next year or so, a second night of shows might be added, Ackerman said. Besides business fans, CNBC is also interested in reaching viewers who don't usually watch the network. They'll like it even if some of the shows feel familiar, Ackerman said, comparing them to the familiar police procedural dramas. "My sense is if it's a good story, you're still going to find an audience for it," he said.
[Associated
Press;
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
News | Sports | Business | Rural Review | Teaching & Learning | Home and Family | Tourism | Obituaries
Community |
Perspectives
|
Law & Courts |
Leisure Time
|
Spiritual Life |
Health & Fitness |
Teen Scene
Calendar
|
Letters to the Editor