MPT Announces Retirement of `Wall $treet Week With Fortune'

OWINGS MILLS, Md., March 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Maryland Public Television (MPT) has announced that it will retire the long-running series Wall $treet Week. The final episode will be produced for broadcast on Friday, June 24, 2005 at 8:30 p.m. (check local listings).

"This announcement signals the end of an era for us," said Robert J. Shuman, president and CEO of Maryland Public Television. "We're proud that MPT has produced the most-watched weekly financial show for 35 years."

Debuting in 2002 as a successor to MPT's pioneering Wall $treet Week with Louis Rukeyser, which launched in 1970, Wall $treet Week with FORTUNE averaged a national weekly audience exceeding one million viewers since its inception. "However, it became clear that difficult market conditions impeded our ability to secure the necessary underwriting support necessary to continue production," added Shuman.

"Wall $treet Week with FORTUNE and its predecessor were trustworthy staples in the PBS schedule for more than three decades," said John F. Wilson, senior vice president, PBS Programming. "As the leader of financial television, we salute MPT, the cast and crew, and partners, for a great show that will be missed."

Larry D. Unger, MPT's chief operating officer said, "The life of the show's format ran its course against the evolving landscape of how the public accesses information for the purpose of investing. We were finding that underwriters are less inclined to target investors and market watchers with a public television weekly series. For 35 years this show provided insights and information for investors who found few if any alternative choices available on television. Today we will begin using our resources to identify new frontiers."

"As the curtain comes down on this venerable giant of a show, we tip our hats and say thank you to PBS, to FORTUNE, to our loyal viewers, and to the show's original producer, Anne Truax Darlington," said Shuman. "Most importantly, MPT wants to salute Louis Rukeyser for his pioneering contribution to financial television and wish him well. MPT won't rest on its laurels though, and we're looking at a number of fresh approaches for this next generation of financial television viewers."

MPT is a leader in the production of broadcast programming for public television. MPT's credits include public affairs, original performance, documentary, and entertainment programs. Beyond broadcast, MPT creates instructional videos, develops training, and builds Internet sites that serve tens of thousands of students, teachers, and child-care providers annually. MPT outreach activities, especially relating to arts, culture, and history, take place in all areas of the state to further fulfill MPT's mission to engage, enlighten, and entertain. For more information on MPT visit http://www.mpt.org/.