NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--FOX Business Network (FBN) ended 2020 by notching its highest-rated year in network history across Total Day and Business Day dayparts, while nine FBN programs delivered milestone viewership highs, according to Nielsen Media Research.
In commenting on the network’s year-end ratings, FBN President Lauren Petterson said, “We are incredibly proud of the entire FOX Business team and all of their hard work in what has been a critical economic year.”
Rounding out 2020, all key network dayparts saw double-digit audience growth across the board compared to 2019. Notably, FBN’s Business Day programming (9:30AM-5 PM/ET) delivered 236,000 total viewers, scoring the network’s most-watched Business Day year in total viewers. The network also recorded a high among Total Day (6AM-6 AM/ET) total viewers (168,000) which was FBN’s most-watched Total Day in history, up 32 percent year-over-year. During Market Hours (9AM-4 PM/ET) FBN saw gains across both total viewers 242,000, up 35 percent) and the coveted A25-54 demo (25,000, up 47 percent) year-over-year.
While nearly all FBN programs posted double-digit audience growth year-over-year, nine signature network shows recorded historic viewership highs. During the pivotal pre-market hours, Mornings with Maria (weekdays 6-9 AM/ET) anchored by Maria Bartiromo nabbed its most-watched year ever in both total viewers (128,000) and the A25-54 demo. Kicking off the market-open, Stuart Varney’s Varney & Co. (weekdays, 9-12 PM/ET) saw a milestone high in total viewers across its live three hours (299,000, up 32 percent) and placed among the top 10 programs on business television.
FBN’s post-market programming continued to reign over the competition in 2020 as well. Lou Dobbs’ signature Lou Dobbs Tonight (weekdays 5-6 PM/ET), which shifted to the 5 PM/ET hour in March, drew 305,000 total viewers and outpaced the CNBC competition for the year with a 33 percent advantage. The show also marked the network’s most-watched 5PM hour ever. Encore presentations of Lou Dobbs Tonight at 7 PM/ET also dominated the hour, outperforming The News with Shepard Smith which launched in September (317,000 vs. 278,000 total viewers) and subsequently earned Dobbs’ fifth yearly win in the timeslot.
The Evening Edit with Elizabeth MacDonald at 6 PM/ET continued to outperform CNBC’s signature Mad Money with Jim Cramer among total viewers (244,000, a 2 percent advantage) for the fourth consecutive year while also notching its highest-rated year across total viewers and the A25-54 demo. FBN’s Kennedy (Monday- Thursday, 8PM/ET) hosted by Lisa “Kennedy” Montgomery averaged 116,000 total viewers and achieved the network’s highest-rated Monday – Thursday 8PM hour ever in total viewers and the A25-54 demo. In total, the network’s post-market hours saw increases of 36 percent.
Additionally, the network presented seven of the top 15 programs on business television. In addition to Dobbs, Varney, and MacDonald, After the Bell, (weekdays 4-5 PM/ET), CAVUTO: Coast to Coast (weekdays 12-2 PM/ET), The Claman Countdown (weekdays 3-4 PM/ET), and Making Money with Charles Payne (weekdays 2-3 PM/ET) all placed among the most-watched business programs on television. Notably, Making Money with Charles Payne saw its highest-rated year ever in both total viewers and the A25-54 demo, nabbing audience increases of 46 percent in total viewers and 60 percent in the A25-54 demo year-over-year.
The Claman Countdown anchored by Liz Claman scored a record A25-54 high with 23,000 viewers and CAVUTO: Coast to Coast anchored by Neil Cavuto drew in its most total viewers ever (213,000). CAVUTO: Coast to Coast, After the Bell, Making Money with Charles Payne, Lou Dobbs Tonight, and Kennedy also ranked among the top 15 programs on cable news with high-income A25-54 demo audiences.
The network’s primetime Friday programming including Maria Bartiromo’s Wall Street (Fridays at 9PM/ET), WSJ at Large with Gerry Baker (Fridays, 9:30 PM/ET) and Barron’s Roundtable (Fridays, 10PM/ET) all saw year-over-year growth by double-digit percentages compared to 2019 among total viewers and the A25-54 demo.
***Below is the data according to Nielsen Media Research
Ratings for the year of 2020
Business Day (9:30AM-5PM/ET)
FBN: 236,000 total viewers and 24,000 A25-54
CNBC: 303,000 total viewers and 70,000 A25-54
Market Hours (9AM-4PM/ET)
FBN: 242,000 total viewers and 25,000 A25-54
CNBC: 307,000 total viewers and 72,000 A25-54
Total Day (6AM-6AM/ET)
FBN: 168,000 total viewers and 19,000 A25-54
CNBC: 202,000 total viewers and 55,000 A25-54
FOX Business Network (FBN) is a financial news channel delivering real-time information across all platforms that impact both Main Street and Wall Street. Headquartered in New York — the business capital of the world — FBN launched in October 2007 and currently ranks among the top business channels on television. The network is available in nearly 80 million homes in all markets across the United States. Owned by FOX Corporation, FBN is a unit of FOX News Media and has bureaus in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C.
