New CNBC site more like ESPN.com than competitors

Cassimer Medford, who writes for the tech-related Red Herring, critiqued the new CNBC.com web site and noted that its look and feel was more like ESPN.com than competing financial news and investing web sites.

Medford wrote, “The site is more ESPN.com than it is Google Finance, MarketWatch.com, or TheStreet.com, none of which has a TV network devoted to financial news and newsmakers acting as its knowledge base.

“Between 1998 and 2001, CNBC operated its own web site, but after that the station, which is part of NBC Universal, operated as a data feed for Microsoft’s MSN portal.

“The re-launched site has a very busy design offering text-based stories and analysis along with business video streamed from the TV network. The web site will also offer archived stories and video.”

Later, Medford added, “The site has a look-and-feel similar to ESPN.com, which mirrors CNBC.com in every way except in actual content. Both cover very fast-moving markets, where numbers and analysis are closely studied.

“Both are fed immense amounts of content from a TV network, and stay true to the kind of designed-in clutter that seems appropriate in fields where the news comes fast and furious from multiple sources.”

Read more here.

Meanwhile, Dealbreaker.com critiques the blogs on the site. John Carney wrote, “It looks promising but right now there are very few substantive posts up. Mostly they are introductions to the blogs. Quite a few of the links bring up a 404 error page. And nothing’s been posted at all today. But we’ll cut the kids a little slack, since it’s their first day.”