Alex Weprin of Broadcasting & Cable reports that the Fox Business Network had a larger viewing audience last week — its first airing radio show host Don Imus instead of regular business programming — than rival CNBC.
Weprin writes, “A spokesperson for FBN would neither confirm nor deny the numbers, as the network is not publicly rated by Nielsen.
“Imus in the Morning averaged a .2 rating and 148,000 viewers P2+ in its 6-9 a.m. timeslot for the week of October 5-9.
“That was good enough to just beat CNBC’s Squawk Box, which averaged 145,000 viewers P2+.
“Imus premiered on FBN October 5 to 177,000 total viewers, and had a day-to-day retention rate of 75%.”
Read more here. A New York Daily News story about the same data cautioned, “People in the industry, however, cautioned that Imus and CNBC’s morning ‘Squawk Box’ tap different audiences and are not really in direct competition.
