Marketwatch media columnist Jon Friedman talked with Fox News Channel’s Neil Cavuto last week about starting up the new business news channel.
Friedman wrote, “Fox has noted that the Cavuto-led business unit passed CNN and CNBC to grab the top five spots in cable news, including the Saturday morning business-news block. Cavuto’s financial program, ‘Your World,’ has been No. 1 in its time slot for five years.
“These days, the clock is ticking and the media hordes are circling as Cavuto helps plan the Fox Business Channel. This ambitious venture is filled with equal parts risk and reward.
“Fox executives expect it to be a great success — and represent further proof that the liberal pundits are full of … well, that they’re wrong to say again and again that Fox News flourishes solely because every red-stater hangs on the utterances of Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity. Fox insists that its ‘fair and balanced’ news presentation is the key.
“As Cavuto knows better than anyone, there are no guarantees in life.
“The big question is whether Fox’s current loyal audience, which thrives on political news, will be as eager to follow the network’s take on business and investing. CNBC, a unit of General Electric Co., is a formidable foe and has been virtually synonymous with TV business news. CNBC’s what-me-worry brass says that it welcomes the competition from Fox.”
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