Fox Taking On Business News, CNBC with New Channel

NEW YORK — After months of furious and secretive preparations, the Fox Business Network is set to launch Monday, expanding the reach of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. and taking aim at the lucrative business TV market long ruled by CNBC.

FBN has revealed little about its shows or schedule, but executives say the network will seek a broad audience by reaching beyond market coverage with personal finance advice, business perspectives on general news and a "passionate" and "fun" style.

"The biggest difference with some of our competitors is they speak very much inside baseball to a very finite group of people in the Wall Street community and high-net-worth investors," said Alexis Glick, FBN's vice president of business news and one of the core anchors.

Glick, who previously directed business coverage for Fox News and worked on NBC's "Today" show and at CNBC, said the new network will appeal to people "interested in their homes and in saving for their retirement and in saving for their kids' education and 'what are those stocks out there that I didn't know about that I can make some money on?' "

The 24-hour network also has big plans for its online presence and is looking hard at ways to join forces with Dow Jones & Co., the Wall Street Journal publisher that News Corp. is buying for $5 billion. A hurdle there is a CNBC-Journal content-sharing deal running through 2012.

FBN's architects hope to replicate the success of the Fox News Channel, which launched in 1996, challenging and then overtaking Atlanta-based CNN using a populist and opinionated approach that created both die-hard fans and fierce critics.

On Monday, FBN will debut in more than 30 million homes. While a big launch for a cable channel, it provides only about a third of the reach of CNBC, which is owned by General Electric Co.'s NBC Universal.

It is uncertain whether FBN's "Main Street" approach will win over CNBC's core audience: business-savvy, affluent and highly educated viewers coveted by top advertisers.

"I don't think they want to go directly head-on with CNBC," said Derek Baine, a cable television analyst with SNL Kagan. "What they want to do is try to broaden that market and get their brand more entrenched with consumers."

Glick said FBN will still serve Wall Street, but she also would be happy to capture audiences "from ESPN viewers, some soap opera viewers, some CNBC viewers, some cable news viewers."

CNBC is paying attention. While the veteran financial network has been flying high with strong ratings and ad revenues, it recently made graphics and programming changes, shuffling its lineup this past week in the hours after the market's close.

The post-market period has traditionally been CNBC's weak spot and is a target for FBN's ambitions.

"I don't think people make financial decisions between the hours of 9 and 4," said Brian Jones, FBN's vice president in charge of news gathering and operations. "We want every eyeball. Why limit yourself to any particular group?"

CNBC President Mark Hoffman has said he is not concerned about the Fox challenge.

"CNBC isn't about Wall Street or Main Street. We're about any street where people either have wealth or aspire to have wealth," he told TVWeek. "I don't know that any cable network can be all things to all people."

Murdoch and Roger Ailes, CEO of Fox News and FBN and a former head of CNBC, have largely kept their latest effort under wraps.

A Fox promotional Web site heavy with photos and videos focuses on FBN's cast of anchors including Glick, Neil Cavuto and David Asman.

Fox News said Tuesday that Carly Fiorina, the former CEO of PC maker Hewlett-Packard Co., would be a contributor to the business network. Fiorina said she would be speaking on "issues of vital concern to our economy and our nation."

Also on board as a prime-time host is Dave Ramsey, a Nashville, Tenn.-based radio personality and finance guru, who advises people on reducing debt and controlling spending.

Fox is looking to Dow Jones for additional content and expertise, but is hampered by the deal that gives CNBC access to the Journal's business news coverage.

"We have attorneys who continue to read the fine print. We've had many conversations with our colleagues at the respective places between MarketWatch, Dow Jones and the Wall Street Journal," Glick said. "In the opportunities where we feel there is a fit to work together, we clearly plan to do it and are doing it."

Speaking of the Web traffic experienced by Dow Jones' sites, Glick said "the greatest things about this Dow Jones deal for us is the opportunity to translate some of those unique users into traditional TV watchers."

The Internet is a core part of FBN's strategy, and its Web site will share content and have the same editorial oversight as the network, executives say.

However, FBN's strongest weapon to fend off Internet rivals may be its hour-long personal finance shows, said Baine, the analyst. He said such shows are "sticky" with viewers and are less vulnerable than the short clips often used by CNBC to competition from news on the Web and mobile devices.

Another challenge for the new network may be one of perception, since it is closely associated with Fox News, which is often criticized for a right-wing bias.

FBN's Jones, who once managed communications for President Bush's election campaign and the 2000 Republican National Convention, said some people have already made up their minds about the new channel.

"It's akin to people hating the movie before the movie is even out," he said. Jones said he is more concerned with viewers than critics.

The Fox strategy and style has been successful, Baine said.

"People sling arrows at Fox News because of the political bias but they're ahead in the ratings, so it's actually a positive from a business standpoint," he said. "It's hard to say that's a big negative when their ratings are significantly higher than CNN."

On the Web:

Fox Business site: www.foxbusiness.com

CNBC: www.cnbc.com