Fox Business Network begins to reveal strategy

Marketwatch media columnist Jon Friedman writes Monday that the announcements last week by Fox Business Network about its anchors begins to show its strategy in competing against CNBC.

Friedman wrote, “Fox Business is also staying true to what succeeded at Fox News: creating many of its own stars. That game plan paid dividends as Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity, Shep Smith and Cavuto, among others, became household names.

“Meanwhile, media pundits have speculated that Liz Claman, the popular anchor who resigned from CNBC a few months ago, would join Fox’s business channel. (Fox has remained characteristically mum.) Claman had a big following — whose ranks included a certain Oracle of Omaha — and her arrival would help Fox Business gain quick credibility.

“Even without Claman, Fox can count on a loyal audience. Rivals accuse Fox News of being too chatty or too confrontational, and for having a right-wing bias. But the naysayers respect its ability to tap a sizable, affluent market that, for one reason or another, had eluded other channels. Fox News offered disenfranchised viewers something distinct.

“For now, Fox Business Network executives must adjust their programming to an audience that’s obsessed with its wallets. As the song goes, money changes everything — because so much is at stake. It’s one thing to argue about presidential candidates, who seem remote. But when people have money invested in the stock market, they want very much to understand the headlines.”

Read more here.