CNBC ratings soar due to “Shark Tank”

CNBC’s ratings at night have jumped due to running re-runs of “Shark Tank,” reports Andrea Morabito of the New York Post.

Morabito writes, “While ‘Shark Tank’ is averaging 7.9 million viewers in its current fifth season on ABC — up 16 percent, on track for its best season yet — it’s also brought CNBC its own ratings success.

“Since debuting on the network last month, ‘Shark Tank’ repeats have garnered CNBC its largest prime-time audience (596,000 viewers) in five years — since the peak of the financial crisis in December 2008.

“The series — which has aspiring entrepreneurs pitch business ideas to a panel of potential investors (‘the sharks’) like Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and real estate magnate Barbara Corcoran — has steadily grown in popularity since it debuted on ABC in 2009.

“‘It’s business, it’s deal-making, it’s opportunity, it’s the entrepreneurial spirit, so it really speaks to all the things that we’re interested in,’ says CNBC’s Jim Ackerman, senior VP of prime time alternative programming.”

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