‘Kudlow’ and ‘Varney & Co.’ Continue Reign as Leading Programs in Business News

FOX Business Network (FBN) ended the second quarter of 2023 once again outpacing the competition, remaining the highest rated business network for the fifth consecutive quarter with business day and market hours, according to Nielsen Media Research. In primetime hours, FBN delivered its highest rated quarter since 2020 while CNBC delivered its worst quarter since 2006 with total viewers, since 1992 with the younger 25-54 demo and 2005 with A35-64. Notably, FBN’s market open and close programs, Kudlow and Varney & Co., remained the two highest-rated business news programs.

As the markets reacted to news regarding the debt ceiling, the aftereffects of the Silicon Valley Bank collapse and inflation, FBN proved to be the channel viewers turned to as the network continued to best CNBC during key dayparts. Kicking off the pre-market coverage, Maria Bartiromo’s Mornings with Maria (weekdays, 6-9 AM/ET) outpaced CNBC’s signature franchise program Squawk Box, seeing a 2% viewer advantage during the pivotal morning hours this quarter. The trend continued during Stuart Varney’s market-open show Varney & Co. (weekdays, 9 AM-12 PM/ET), which marked five straight quarters beating CNBC’s Squawk on the Street. The second highest-rated show in business, Varney delivered a 31% advantage over CNBC (FBN: 255,000 vs CNBC: 195,000 P2+) this quarter. Rounding out the business day, Neil Cavuto’s CAVUTO: Coast to Coast (weekdays, 12 PM/ET) garnered 154,000 viewers, The Big Money Show (weekdays, 1 PM/ET) banked 130,000 viewers, Making Money with Charles Payne delivered 140,000 viewers and The Claman Countdown (weekdays, 3 PM/ET) scored 152,000 viewers, all ranking among the top 20 business news programs.

Post-market coverage delivered strong gains led by Larry Kudlow’s eponymous program, Kudlow (weekdays, 4 PM/ET). Notching six consecutive quarters as the highest-rated program in business news, Kudlow also overtook its competition for the seventh straight quarter by a striking 61% percent with 264,000 viewers compared to CNBC’s 164,000 for Closing Bell. Elizabeth MacDonald’s The Evening Edit (weekdays, 5 PM/ET) amassed 164,000 viewers, outperforming its CNBC competition by 9% and showcasing an 8% year-over-year advantage. Dagen McDowell and Sean Duffy’s newly minted The Bottom Line (weekdays, 6 PM/ET) swept its timeslot with 139,000 viewers, a 12% advantage over CNBC’s 124,000. The program also picked up its second back-to-back quarter win since launch.

Bartiromo’s weekly primetime program Maria Bartiromo’s Wall Street (Fridays, 7-7:30 PM/ET) ushered in 71,000 viewers while Barron’s Roundtable/WSJ at Large with Gerry Baker (Fridays, 7:30-8 PM/ET) posted 2% year-over-year growth. The fourth season of FBN Prime, FOX Business Network’s weekday primetime programming slate, performed especially well with the introduction of the iconic series COPS (Thursdays, 8-11 PM/ET). Measured in the younger demos, COPS was FBN Prime’s first show to beat CNBC for the season, and year-over-year, saw a 33% advantage in viewers, a 200% advantage with A25-54 and a 69% advantage with A35-64. My Dream Car (Tuesdays, 8-11 PM/ET) recorded a 30% year-over-year advantage with total viewers.

Additionally, FBN ended the second quarter of the year delivering five of the top 10 cable news programs with affluent audiences amongst the 25-54 demo. Stuart Varney’s American Built (Mondays, 8-11 PM/ET) placed first with viewers’ incomes totaling a median of $212,100. Maria Bartiromo’s Wall Street (Fridays, 7-7:30 PM/ET) placed second with a median income of $169,300. Varney & Co., Mornings with Maria and Making Money with Charles Payne each delivered median incomes greater than $145,500. The Claman Countdown, Mansion Global (Wednesdays, 8-11 PM/ET), CAVUTO: Coast to Coast and The Big Money Show placed amongst the top 20 programs tallying $133,500 or greater.

***Below is the data according to Nielsen Media Research

Business Day (9:30AM-5PM/ET): 193,000 total viewers and 13,000 A25-54

Market Hours (9AM-4PM/ET): 187,000 total viewers and 13,000 A25-54

Total Day (6AM-6AM/ET): 125,000 total viewers and 13,000 A25-54

FOX Business Network (FBN) is a financial news channel delivering real-time information across all platforms that impact both Main Street and Wall Street. Headquartered in New York — the business capital of the world — FBN launched in October 2007 and is currently the top business channel on television. The network is available in nearly 80 million homes in all markets across the United States. Owned by Fox Corporation, FBN is a unit of FOX News Media and has bureaus in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C.

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