(full disclosure -- although pretty much avoiding everything else on CNBC-US, I do Tivo OA and watch it over coffee on Saturday morning...not for trading advice but rather as interesting food-for-thought.)
That said, in a
rare pro-CNBC comment here from me, I will say that thus far, Options Action is a pretty reasonable and generally non-sensational program that indeed accomplishes what it purports to do -- namely, to inform and educate retail investors on the concept of options as part of a responsible investment program.
Compared to other CNBC investing shows, Options Action is pretty mature and does not have the annoying booyah-bs (of Insane Money) or Sportscenter-ish bravado (of Warped Money).
Yes, the folks on OA tend to focus on collars and spreads as responsible strategies, which is a good thing IMHO to introduce people into using options as a way of protecting their traditional long-only portfolios. I don't think they've ever recommended naked calls or short strangle/straddles, both of which I think would be irresponsible to present on a show gearned to the average retail investor[1] who may be pretty clueless about options trading to begin with and/or not an active trader. They keep it fairly simple, informative, and straightforward given the show's intended audience.
Bottom line, I think OA, as a product of CNBC, is a decent program to introduce folks to options and in a generally non-sensational manner, and one where the program's potentially educational content is not overwhelmed by the traditional CNBC hysterics and special effects.
[1] Ratio put spreads might be considered irresponsible, but they've only been reco'd once or twice I think. And the guy who reco'd naked put selling on GOOG for their first show never returned, so I guess that was not viewed as a responsible trade strategy.
