TCA: CNBC Greenlights Two More Reality Series

‘Family Business Project,' ‘Big Fix' to help grow net's new Tuesday block

By Andrea Morabito -- Broadcasting & Cable, 1/7/2013 6:56:13 PM

Complete Coverage: TCA Winter Press Tour 2013

Pasadena, Calif. -- CNBC on Monday greenlit two more primetime reality series, The Family Business Project and The Big Fix, the network said at the Television Critics' Association winter press tour.

The pick-ups join Treasure Detectives and The Car Chasers, CNBC's first foray into the reality space, which both premiere Tuesday, March 5.

In each episode of The Family Business Project, three family-owned companies will compete for a $50,000 cash prize by making their case to a panel of judges, with the winner being selected by a 100-person studio audience. The series is from Embassy Row and executive producer Michael Davies.

The Big Fix, from executive producer Charlie Ebersol and THE Company, features a fixer of businesses investing his own money to help rebuild companies in trouble. CNBC has ordered eight episodes.

While the network is focusing on Tuesday nights initially to launch reality series, the long-term strategy is that the network will expand the programming to other nights, said Jim Ackerman, CNBC's senior VP of primetime alternative programming.

"I think we've turned a page, this is our future," he said. "You just need one and it can change the profile of a channel. This is a big-time commitment in terms of the programming dollars and the marketing and the time we're going to get."