CNBC ratings continue to slide

Scott Rubin of Benzinga.com reports Tuesday about CNBC‘s decline in ratings for January.

Rubin writes, “Furthermore, the losses are concentrated in the key 25-54 age demographic. The ratings slide could cause changes as Comcast executives review their new NBCU properties.

“While declines can be witnessed across the board, Maria Bartiromo‘s time slot on ‘The Closing Bell’ was among the hardest hit. Viewership was down 22% in January from the year ago period for the 3-4 p.m. EST time slot and a whopping 36% for the 4-5 p.m. EST time slot for the 25-54 demographic.

“When comparing the most recent week, where Maria Bartiromo was covering the World Economic Forum from Davos, Switzerland, to her coverage last year, viewership has fallen 43% for the 3-4 p.m. time slot in the key demographic and 47% for the 4-5 p.m. segment of ‘The Closing Bell.’

“The network as a whole lost 13% of its 25-54 demographic in January 2011 compared to January 2010. Another segment that has seen a contraction in the 25-54 demo is the 12-1 p.m. hour where the network is now broadcasting the ‘Fast Money Halftime Show’ and the ‘Strategy Session.’ Last year, this hour of programming was dedicated to ‘Power Lunch.’ Viewership for this hour is down 31% year over year for the 25-54 demo.”

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Bill Brown says:
February 1, 2011 at 6:07 pm
I would argue that, to a degree, CNBC's 2010 numbers were "juiced" by lingering high interest by individual investors in it's real time broadcast as the stock markets continued their recovery from the depths of 2008.
That theory on the table, it doesn't explain the collapse in the lunchtime hour and "Money Honey" block of 3-5PM. If I'm home, I'd rather watch Bloomberg, and at the office, I'm more likely to stream it's radio broadcast in the background. It is much more aligned with "real business" matters, instead of attempting to explain every tick up or down, and less likely to give the soapbox platform over to a (self-serving) CEO or analyst for soundbyte-laden, softball friendly Q & A's.
What were the ratings for January of Jim Cramer's shout-a-thon, with it's nauseating pacing around the stage filmed with the shoulder-toting cameraman?