CNBC has officially announced that its Business Day programming will no longer be measured by Nielsen, as first reported by our partner Sam Thielman of Adweek back in June. The network will partner with Cogent Reports, a provider of research to the financial and investment services community.
CNBC is only ditching Nielsen for its daytime audience where it has believed for years that its audience — traders, advisers etc. — are watching from offices, clubs, bars and trading floors, which Nielsen doesn’t measure. The network will continue to use Nielsen to gauge primetime, which includes the number one show re-runs of “Shark Tank.”
CNBC’s business day numbers have been down for six consecutive years, according to Nielsen.
“We are excited to begin to provide our marketing partners with a more complete understanding of the power and quality of our prestigious audience,” said CNBC president Mark Hoffman in a press release.
Not everyone thinks CNBC’s decision has good intentions, as rival Fox Business Network executive vice president of advertising Paul Rittenberg told The Wall Street Journal. “Only using the numbers you like is a little tough to sell,” says Rittenberg. FBN will stick with Nielsen.