Fox Business tops CNBC in first quarter

Fox Business Network recorded more viewers as measured by Nielsen in the first quarter of 2017 than rival CNBC, reports Joe Concha of The Hill.

Concha writes, “Fox Business’s March performance marked its sixth month as TV’s top business network as it registered an average of 212,000 viewers from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., while CNBC averaged 183,000 total viewers during that time period.

“CNBC did beat Fox Business by a narrow margin in the key 25-54 demographic during Business Day hours, however, capturing an average of 35,000 viewers to Fox Business’s 31,000.

“Overall, ‘all of FBN’s business programming saw double digit increases year over year, while CNBC tied for its third lowest rated month ever,’ according to a Fox Business release.

“CNBC announced in 2015 that it will no longer rely on Nielsen ratings to measure its daytime audience, turning to rival Cogent Reports instead.

“The financial network made the switch after complaining for years that Nielsen fails to track ‘out of home’ viewing in locations such as airports, gyms, restaurants and offices.”

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