McEnroe tones it down for CNBC

In a cable TV world where a host’s ability often seems measured in volume, who better to hire than John McEnroe?

You cannot be serious!!!

Yes, we are. The former tennis bad boy is now a talk show host, but he’s not shouting.

“McEnroe,” which debuts on CNBC Wednesday at 7 p.m., will be a cosmopolitan mix of topical guests, music, art, sports and a lot of comedy. In test runs, the program’s eclectic mix of guests feels like an expanded version of the second half of Jon Stewart’s “The Daily Show.”

McEnroe may even do a monologue.

“I’m not at the point in my life where I want to be really serious,” said McEnroe, 45, who strummed a guitar during a recent conversation on his show’s set. “At this point, I want to have more fun.”

McEnroe’s sidekick is former VH1 video jock John Fugelsang. One of the show’s featured elements is the “Mac Attack,” where Fugelsang peppers McEnroe with rapid-fire questions.

The network is reconstructing an East Coast prime-time lineup that’s been in shambles since Geraldo Rivera left for Fox News Channel in 2001. CNBC’s daytime business audience flees at night, so management is trying new things to entice viewers.

Dennis Miller’s political talk show, which precedes “McEnroe,” had an average viewership of 236,000 through June -- a 19% increase from the same period last year, according to Nielsen Media Research. CNBC doesn’t have much to lose in McEnroe’s time slot: The current business program is averaging 189,000 viewers a night this year.

McEnroe has been branching out into entertainment as a much-praised tennis commentator and as host for a short-lived ABC game show, “The Chair.”

“It’s a good thing to be self-deprecating and have a sense of humor,” McEnroe said. “Hopefully that will be something they see that they didn’t expect. I didn’t show it very well when I was playing, that’s for sure. But I’m able to show it when I’m in a different environment.”

At the McEnroe home, the dinner table is loud. McEnroe has custody of his three children with actress Tatum O’Neal, and his wife, rock singer Patty Smyth, also has a child from a previous relationship. They have two kids on their own.

That sounds like a sitcom or, in this era, a reality show.

“I say no one could ever top Ozzy’s first year,” he said, “so don’t even bother trying.”