‘Kudlow’ and ‘Varney & Co’ Reign as Top Programs in Business News
‘Mornings with Maria’ Outpaces CNBC’s Squawk Box with Viewers
NEW YORK – February 27, 2024 – FOX Business Network (FBN) closed February with Kudlow and Varney & Co. dominating the business news space as the top two business programs with viewers for the 24th straight month, according to Nielsen Media Research. The network claimed four of the top 10 programs on business television including Kudlow (weekdays, 4 PM/ET), Varney & Co. (weekdays, 9 AM-12 PM/ET), and The Claman Countdown (weekdays, 3 PM/ET) and The Evening Edit (weekdays 5 PM/ET) tied for the number 10 spot. Additionally, Mornings with Maria (weekdays, 6-9 AM/ET) once again led CNBC’s Squawk Box for the month.
Continuing as the number one market program on television, Kudlow saw a 37% advantage in total viewers as it outperformed CNBC for the 29th consecutive month, securing 288,000 total viewers compared to Closing Bell’s 210,000. Stuart Varney’s signature market-open program Varney & Co. followed closely behind, outpacing Squawk on the Street/Money Movers by 21% with an average of 256,000 total viewers. Notably, Maria Bartiromo’s signature pre-market program Mornings with Maria (weekdays, 6-9AM/ET) bested CNBC’s marquee program Squawk Box, closing out the month with 108,000 viewers across the live three-hour program. Additionally, the program saw across the board growth month-over-month.
For the month, FBN’s business day programming (9:30AM-5PM/ET) drew in 207,000 viewers and 198,000 market hour (9 AM-4 PM/ET) viewers. CAVUTO: Coast to Coast (weekdays 12 PM/ET), which landed amongst the top 15 most-watched business news programs, scored 168,000 viewers. The Big Money Show (weekdays, 1 PM/ET) delivered 143,000 viewers, Making Money with Charles Payne (weekdays, 2 PM/ET) earned 163,000 P2+, its highest rated month since 2022, and The Claman Countdown and The Evening Edit each netted 170,000 viewers.
COPS (Thursdays and Fridays, 8-11 PM/ET), which aired as part of the network’s primetime lineup, continued to crush the competition in February, surpassing CNBC with a 3% advantage in viewers (123,000 viewers), a 21% advantage with the 25-54 demo (40,000 25-54) and 12% advantage with the 35-64 demo (57,000 35-64) in primetime. During the 10 PM/ET hour, the program averaged 144,000 viewers, 52,000 with the 25-54 demo and 67,000 with the 35-65 demo, besting the competition across the board and notching double digit advantages.
Amongst affluent audiences in the younger demo, FBN attained the top four cable news programs with Maria Bartiromo’s Wall Street (Fridays, 7-7:30 PM/ET; $162,200), Mornings with Maria ($158,900), Varney & Co. ($155,000) and Barron’s Roundtable (Fridays, 7:30-8 PM/ET; $154,900). CAVUTO: Coast to Coast rounded out the top 20 programs with a median income of $134,300.
Sourcing: Nielsen. Live+SD. Feb-24 (1/29/24-2/23/24). Average audience for Business News Networks M-F based on Business Day (M-F 9:30am-5pm) & Market Hours (M-F 9am-4pm). Program Averages Exclude Specials. Business News Ranker, Business New Programs M-F 5am-8pm (Excludes Specials & Repeats). Cable News Median Income Rankers, M-F Total Day 6a-6a (1/29/2024 – 2/23/2024) – A25-54 Median Income, 4+ Telecasts Excludes Specials & Repeats.
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.
