After six years at CNBC, anchor Dylan Ratigan is leaving the network and sources tell TVNewser Ratigan may already be on to his next stop.
The NYPost’s Page Six was first to report the news. The Post story claims Ratigan’s departure was caused mostly by tension with CNBC VP Susan Krakower who, along with Ratigan, created “Fast Money” in 2006.
Insiders tell TVNewser the Page Six item is “overblown.” “It’s less about Krakower and more about him,” says the source. “He wants to be the next Letterman.”
And Ratigan has made no secret of that. “My dream job is late-night TV,” Ratigan told Marketwatch.com’s Jon Friedman in 2007. That summer, Ratigan also hosted a game show for CNBC.
Another insider tells us Ratigan’s contract was coming up and that, “negotiations hit a wall in the last couple of weeks.”
“He wanted things from NBC in addition to CNBC,” says the insider. CNBC stars Maria Bartiromo and Erin Burnett have deals which ensure exposure on other NBCU platforms.
At least one other network, ABC, is interested in Ratigan, says our source. And while ABC does not have the cable breadth of NBCU, the network could provide Ratigan with opportunities beyond business news.
Ratigan, who joined CNBC in 2003, began his business news career at Bloomberg TV, where he was plucked from a job at a parking garage thanks to some help from Michael Bloomberg’s ex-wife, Susan.
Insiders could not confirm whether Ratigan would be anchoring either of his shows today (he co-anchors “Closing Bell” at 3pmET) but at the close of “Fast Money” yesterday, Ratigan said, “We’ll see you tomorrow at 5 O’Clock.”
A CNBC spokesman did not return our calls for comment.
> Update: From an ABC News spokesperson, “We think the world of Dylan Ratigan and whoever picks him up will be quite lucky.”
> Update, Update: Ratigan is telling friends he chose to leave CNBC not so much to be the next David Letterman, but because he wants to continue pursuing a storyline which began on his CNBC broadcasts — the robbing of America.