Imus brings ratings boost to Fox Business

Jeff Bercovici of DailyFinance.com reports that the move by radio show host Don Imus to Fox Business Network has brought the business news channel higher ratings.

Bercovici writes, “The simulcast of Imus in the Morning earned an average rating of 0.3 and drew 177,000 total viewers, according to a source with knowledge of the Nielsen data. It was one of the most-watched programs in FBN’s two-year history, and it marked a 1,500 percent improvement over the average rating of Money for Breakfast, the show that previously filled the 6 a.m.-to-9 a.m. time slot.

“The viewers Imus attracted skewed somewhat older than the 25-to-54 crowd advertisers generally prefer. The bulk of the audience, 73,000 viewers, were between 35 and 65 years old. The source had no information on how much of the audience stuck around to watch Fox Business after Imus in the Morning ended. A network spokeswoman declined to confirm or deny the numbers cited above, noting that FBN is not publicly rated.

“Imus also beat its primary rival, CNBC’s Squawk Box, by 17 percent. Squawk Box averaged 151,000 during the same time period.”

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