Ratings sag for TV business news

Keach Hagey and William Launder of The Wall Street Journal examine the declining ratings at business news networks CNBC, Fox Business Network and Bloomberg Television.

Hagey and Launder write, “Since 2008, average total daytime viewership has fallen more than 50%—to 169,000 from 348,000 —at CNBC, which commands three-quarters of the audience among business-news networks, according to Nielsen.

“Six-year-old Fox Business Network remains on a long-term growth trajectory, but its average total daytime audience has declined from last year—to 58,000 from 71,000—and has fallen short of some media buyers’ expectations.

“Bloomberg LP, meanwhile, is rethinking the business model of its TV channel, having failed to turn a profit or draw more than 10% of the audience for TV business news despite being on the air for nearly two decades, according to people familiar with the matter. Nielsen doesn’t release Bloomberg TV’s ratings.

“Most traditional TV networks have struggled to hold on to their audiences in recent years as competition intensifies, including online. But business television has faced the added challenge that individual investors are fleeing the stock market as an increasing amount of trading is done by institutional investors and algorithms, market experts say.”

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