“Just in case Rupert Murdoch is wondering who watches CNBC,” The New York Times‘ Louise Story writes, “a series of commercials starting today will tell him.” The ads feature business luminaries – including Sirius Satellite Radio’s Mel Karmazin and Southwest Airlines Chair Herb Kelleher – stating, “I am American business. I watch CNBC”. The ads will run not only on CNBC but also this fall on other NBC Universal networks.
The Los Angeles Times also weighs in, noting that, despite the efforts of Bloomberg Television and the now-defunct CNNfn, CNBC is, in essence, a “near-monopoly” and “one of the jewels of NBC Universal.” So, can Fox Business Network be the one to finally give CNBC a run for its proverbial money? The paper quotes a top cable executive: “The question is, can they find the secret sauce like they did for Fox News?”
FBN launches October 15.