Fox ratings still lagging far behind CNBC

Howard Kurtz of the Washington Post reports Friday that recently released ratings for new business news channel Fox Business Network shows that it still lags far behind rival CNBC.

Kurtz writes, “For the first three weeks of July, according to Nielsen figures obtained yesterday that have not been publicly released, Fox Business Network is averaging just 8,000 viewers during daytime hours, and 20,000 in prime time.

“CNBC, by contrast, is drawing an average of 284,000 viewers during the day and 191,000 in prime time.

“The Fox numbers are a modest improvement over the ratings that leaked late last fall, which had the network averaging 6,000 daytime viewers and 15,000 at night.

“While the overall showing is anemic, given the ballyhooed launch, Fox executives say they are not surprised. ‘It’s a slow-growing business, but it is a growing business,’ said Executive Vice President Kevin Magee. ‘I don’t think anybody here expected us to be on top by the first summer, and we’re not.’ Anyone who believed otherwise, he said, is ‘probably delusional.'”