Ratings Sag for CableTV Money Channels

The U.S. stock market is soaring, but ratings have sunk for the TV networks dedicated to covering it, according to WSJ.com

In the third quarter, CNBC, the dominant business-news channel, hit a 20-year low in its target demographic of adults 25 to 54 years old, according to Nielsen Holdings NLSN -0.93%  NV. 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.

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