Fox Business Network Trounces CNBC In April

FOX Business Network (FBN) ended the month of April besting the competition across business day and total day hours, according to Nielsen Media Research. 

Notably, this is the first month FBN has led CNBC with total day viewers since October 2023. For the 26th consecutive month, the network delivered the top two business programs, including Kudlow (weekdays, 4 PM/ET), which outranked CNBC’s Closing Bell for the 31st consecutive month and Varney & Co. (weekdays, 9 AM-12 PM/ET), which soared past Squawk on the Street/Money Movers for the 26th straight month.

FBN held its title as the most watched network for business news throughout April. During the critical market hours (9 AM-4 PM), FBN saw 184,000 viewers. In business day (9 AM-5 PM) FBN averaged 196,000 viewers and in total day (6 AM-6 AM), the network garnered 126,000 viewers.

• FBN’s pre-market program Mornings with Maria (weekdays, 6-9 AM/ET) defeated Squawk Box for the third back-to-back month, averaging 101,000 in total viewers compared to CNBC’s 93,000 and delivering a 9% advantage with viewers. 
• Hosted by Stuart Varney, FBN’s signature three-hour market-open program Varney & Co. garnered 232,000 total viewers, joining Kudlow as the network’s two top-rated programs, and outpacing CNBC’s Squawk on the Street/Money Movers for the 26th consecutive month. 
• CAVUTO: Coast to Coast (weekdays, 12 PM/ET) drew in 155,000 viewers while The Big Money Show (weekdays, 1 PM/ET) delivered 134,000 viewers. 
• Making Money with Charles Payne (weekdays, 2 PM/ET) saw 146,000 viewers, a 10% increase with the 25-54 demo and a 30% increase with the 35-64 demo, compared to the prior year. Liz Claman’s The Claman Countdown (weekdays, 3 PM/ET) notched 159,000 viewers.
• FBN’s powerhouse market-close program Kudlow scored 286,000 viewers, a 68% advantage over its CNBC competition, Closing Bell, and a 5% increase vs. the year prior. April marked the 31st continuous month Kudlow commanded the audience in its timeslot over CNBC. At 5 PM/ET and 6 PM/ET, FBN programming surpassed its competition for the second successive month with The Evening Edit (weekdays, 5 PM/ET) bringing in 165,000 viewers, a 13% advantage over Fast Money and The Bottom Line (weekdays 6 PM/ET) totaling 136,000 viewers, a 9% advantage over Mad Money.

FBN Prime (8-11PM) also continued to outperform CNBC in April with COPS on Thursdays and Fridays from 8-11 PM/ET. Across the three hours, the network saw 117,000 viewers, 40,000 with the 25-54 demo and 52,000 with the 35-64 demo. Once again, the program showed double and triple-digit advantages over the year before (65% advantage with viewers; 208% advantage with 25-54 demo; 63% advantage with 35-64 demo) and double-digit advantages compared to last month (13% advantage with viewers, 25% advantage with 25-54 demo).

Additionally, FBN garnered two of the top three cable news programs with affluent viewers with CAVUTO: Coast to Coast and Maria Bartiromo’s Wall Street’s (Fridays, 7-7:30 PM/ET) viewers averaging an income of $148,800 or greater. Mornings with Maria and Varney & Co. rounded out the top 15, each delivering an audience with a median income of $133,700 or greater.

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

Ratings for the month of April 2024


Business Day (9:30 AM-5 PM/ET)

• FBN: 196,000 total viewers and 11,000 A25-54
• CNBC: 184,000 total viewers and 38,000 A25-54

Market Hours (9 AM-4 PM/ET)

• FBN: 184,000 total viewers and 11,000 A25-54
• CNBC: 185,000 total viewers and 39,000 A25-54

Total Day (6 AM-6 AM Monday-Friday)

• FBN: 126,000 total viewers and 13,000 A25-54
• CNBC: 123,000 total viewers and 28,000 A25-54

**Program Specials Excluded​**

Sourcing: Nielsen. Live+SD. April-24 (4/1/24-4/28/24). Average audience for Business News Network’s 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 (4/1/24-4/28/24) – A25-54 Median Income, 4+ Telecasts Excludes Specials & Repeats. Year-over-Year comparisons, Apr’24 (4/1/24-4/28/24) vs Year Prior (4/3/23-4/30/23). M-F Total Day - Based on each network's Nielsen defined programming day.