CNBC explores a pop star’s business acumen
Is Pitbull a music sensation or a marketing phenomenon? Does it matter? CNBC, the business news channel, believes that Pitbull, born Armando Christian Perez, is worthy of an hourlong profile because he is “rewriting the blueprint for business success in entertainment.”
“Pitbull: Fame & Fortune” (9 p.m.) shows how the Miami-based, CubanAmerican entertainer has parlayed music success into endorsements for a Vodka brand, restaurants and even his own fragrance. Corporations have used him as an entry into America’s Latin market. His outsized presence earned him the attention of People en Espanol, which named him the Most Influential Latino of 2015.
Correspondent Michelle Caruso-Cabrera travels with the entertainer from one musical engagement and business meeting to another. She squeezes in time for interviews about the changing face of the Latin market.
Pitbull discusses presidential candidate Donald Trump’s many utterances about immigrants and says they are “very offensive and disrespectful to our culture.” Apparently, the geniuses who run CNBC’s sister network NBC aren’t listening. “Saturday Night Live” has invited Trump to host the comedy show on Nov. 7.
Pitbull also welcomes the recent thawing of relations between the United States and Cuba and hopes to perform there some day.
Along the way, Pitbull makes an admission that may explain a lot to those less than thrilled about the state of popular music; he says that the music industry is “90 percent business, 10 percent talent.”
Consider that ratio the next time somebody mentions Justin Bieber.
Betty White gueststars on “Bones” (7 p.m., WHBQ-TV Channel 13). She’ll play forensic anthropologist Dr. Beth Mayer, a brilliant scientist whose personal passion for fantasy football helps Brennan solve a case.
The “Hot in Cleveland” star, also famous for her roles on “The Golden Girls” and “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” is one of the few remaining television legends whose career predates the medium. White was a staple of radio during the mid and late 1940s, before televisions had become the most important piece of furniture in America’s living rooms.
Like her contemporary Lucille Ball, White was a pioneer as both a TV actress and a television producer. Along with her “Mary Tyler Moore” costar Cloris Leachman, White has been with television from the very start.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
A call from the hospital ruins a dinner party on “Grey’s Anatomy” (7 p.m., WATN-TV Channel 24).
An American woman becomes a whirling dervish as Oprah Winfrey’s documentary miniseries “Belief” (7 p.m., OWN) continues.
The San Francisco 49ers host the Seattle Seahawks on “Thursday Night Football” (7:25 p.m., WREG-TV Channel 3, NFL).
Director Ridley Scott’s 2014 biblical effort “Exodus: Gods and Kings” (7:30 p.m., HBO) will probably not dislodge Cecil B. DeMille’s 1956 blockbuster “The Ten Commandments” as viewers’ favorite adaptation.
Pandora unleashes a newer, more evil force on “Sleepy Hollow” (8 p.m., WHBQ-TV Channel 13).
Red believes a kinky freelancer can help clear Liz on “The Blacklist” (8 p.m., WMC-TV Channel 5).
Strange bedfellows on “Scandal” (8 p.m., WATNTV Channel 24).
Chef Robert Irvine stages an intervention for a floundering eatery in Florida on the season 12 debut of “Restaurant: Impossible” (8 p.m., Food).
Contestants change coasts to design outfits for a Hollywood red carpet event on “Project Runway” (8 p.m., Lifetime).
After an attack on the Pentagon, a hacker finds himself pursued by Chinese agents on “The Player” (9 p.m., WMC-TV Channel 5).
The scales fall from Asher’s eyes on “How to Get Away With Murder” (9 p.m., WATN-TV Channel 24).