When markets go down, cable ratings go up.
Tomorrow we’ll have a look at what Black Monday meant for the cable business networks, but we already have a look at Friday, which capped a week in which the Dow dropped 1,000 points.
For its part, Fox Business Network’s 2-hour special anchored by Lou Dobbs from 7-9 p.m. ET, gave FBN a win over CNBC in prime time. FBN’s special, which covered the market correction, as well as GOP frontrunner Donald Trump’s speech in Mobile, Ala., averaged 253,000 total viewers and 44,000 in the A25-54 demo.
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That was enough to give FBN a win in prime time with an average of 213,000 total viewers and 43,000 in the demo, a 14 percent advantage over CNBC which went to tape at 7 p.m. and averaged 187,000 total viewers and 65,000 in the demo in prime time.
Dobbs’ 8 p.m. ET hour (dominated by Trump’s speech) was the network’s highest rated non-election special, with 311,000 total viewers and 55,000 in the demo – beating not only CNBC, but also HLN in total viewers. In addition, Friday was also FBN’s most-watched business day for the month of August, averaging 105,000 total viewers. That will almost certainly be topped by today’s ratings.