Hurdles — and help — for Fox Business Network

The Economist takes a look Thursday at the issues facing the new Fox Business Network, and what issues might help it succeed.

The Economist wrote, “The problem for Fox is that CNBC is already doing what it prescribes. It is neither obviously anti-business nor particularly inaccessible. (Some even accuse it of dumbing down.) There is in fact an excellent reason why CNBC pleases its audience: Mr Ailes designed it when he was president of the channel in the mid-1990s. ‘He invented the modern CNBC with its fast-moving, joking, irreverent style,’ says Howard Kurtz, author of a book called ‘The Fortune Tellers’ about business and the media. CNBC is also home to Maria Bartiromo, the superstar of TV business journalism, who is known to (male) viewers as the ‘money honey’.

“Fox Business’s most urgent priority now is to get into more homes. It has secured distribution into 30m American houses, compared with CNBC‘s 90m. Mr Ailes will doubtless try to poach talent from CNBC. He hired Ms Bartiromo while there; her contract is reportedly up for renewal soon. Eventually, Fox Business will be able to make use of the Wall Street Journal, which News Corp will own soon. Until 2012, the Journal has an agreement with CNBC which gives the channel rights to the paper’s journalists. And CNBC does have flaws. ‘Its programming has not evolved much over time, so there’s an opportunity for Fox,’ says Andrew McLean, president of global business for the media-buying arm of WPP, a communications firm.

“It is certainly a good moment for a battle over business TV. A rising stockmarket tends to be good for ratings, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average has just hit another record high. As the credit crunch struck in August, CNBC racked up its highest viewer numbers for six years. If business stories stay centre-stage this year and next, there might just be room for more than one money honey.”

Read more here.