CNBC Viewership Plunges To 21 Year Lows

[Htown Harry]

Then put on some new reality shows that really have little to do with "financial news" but do focus on creating groups of people that need money for something...

Yeah, that's the ticket...

I've gotten started on my elevator pitch for a groundbreaking new show that can be simulcast on CNBC and Animal Planet...

I hear Bubbles the chimp is available. After being kicked out of Neverland, his subsequent gig as an Ameriprise advisor to other down-on-their-luck trust fund babies was very successful, but ultimately ended over a dispute over fees and commissions. He went on to become a senior equity analyst at a major wall street firm, specializing in agricultural commodity firms supplying the primate pet food industry. His track record was stellar. Consistent "strong buy" recommendations on market leaders Chiquita and Dole have paid off handsomely for investors.

Now, he makes his triumphant return to the spotlight in Bubble Busters, the daily show that combines the the excitement of the game show format with hard-hitting stock analysis from industry experts. Watch as a rotating lineup of Wall Street analysts and penny stock newsletter publishers compete for cash and prizes by matching wits with Bubbles. All participants make selections of stocks currently in the news and predict both short-term and long-term (next Friday's closing price) picks. Any stock whose price is listed in the daily edition of the WSJ is fair game for the contestants.

The show's title is meant to be ironic, because Bubbles rarely loses. One month into rehearsals, the results so far show that the "Bubbles Method" has a 50.174% success rate, enough to beat his contestants handily on nearly every pick.

 

[jimnjana]

I flip back and forth between cnbc and Bloomberg in the am when I'm drinking my coffee. CNBC still has some good interviews latest was warren buffet this week. I'll record the shows and fast forward to the piece I wanna see. I do the same with cramer's mad money in the evening. About 10 minutes of that show is sometimes worth watching.

 

[marko]

Kelly Evans is worth watching IMHO.

 

[Birchwood]

Having just retired and taken over our investments from my wife at her request, I look forward learning all I can about finances, retirement, economy and investments in general. So I turned on CNBC everyday to see what's going on in general. I turn it off if I feel it's not helping me. It's nice to see the action going on, although, I feel a lot of it is just over hyped or exaggerated blow by blow account of what is usually a slow cyclical process.

When I got my New laptop with Windows 8, all of the webcast are there to explore daily. It include CNBC, WSJ, Bloomberg, Reuters, AP, Marketwatch, Kiplinger, and yes, Cramer's Street.com So I can choose what I want to watch.

TV becomes a smaller part, but it's still nice to have.

 

[SJ1_]

Like many others here, I quit watching the financial noise channel decades ago, and it appears I was following the herd out the door. Not surprising, but a quantitative appraisal of CNBCs value?

I haven't helped their ratings. Check the futures, opening and closing at most. Pretty much keep a certain percent in equities in Vanguard so day to day has
Little value.

 

[truenorth418]

If you want financial news, what broadcast channels or programs do you watch that you prefer over CNBC?

I cut the cable cord a few months ago, but when I do have access to the business channels I much prefer Fox Business. I like Stuart Varney, Cavuto, Charles Payne and the rest of the team there.



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[clifp]

Other successful cable "genre shows", such as MTV, Food Network, History Channel, all faced the same challenge but were able to keep their viewer ratings. They all evolved their programming into reality TV and shifted their original program to another, low cost channel to continue with the original program format.

Maybe that's what CNBC needs to do. They're trying, putting on programs related to financial crime and such, but they need to do a lot more. Move the financial reporting to a sister show with nothing flashy, straight reporting. Then put on some new reality shows that really have little to do with "financial news" but do focus on creating groups of people that need money for something and will compete for cash prizes by being irresponsible or doing dumb things. Kramer was a decent start but they didn't push that concept hard enough.

They are actually doing much of this, with Shows like American Greed, the Profit, which I quite enjoy, and reruns of the Shark Tank and the Apprentice.

I find the Profit to be pretty interesting actually, folks might want to give it a shot.

 

[splitwdw]

Can you understand Joe? He mumbles so much I have a hard time understanding what he is saying.

He does "old guy" muttering like my grandfather.

Notice the ratings in the crash years. This is why most cable channels love misery. News or news-like channels prefer bad times, and even manufacture them if you ask me.

In some circumstances, it is disgraceful.

I pretty much have stopped watching all these channels. I especially mourn the loss of The Weather Channel of old.

The "love misery" reminds me of how the weather guys get when a storm is coming. I love when the Weather Channel shows their weather people trying to stand up in a hurricane.

 

[Chuckanut]

CNBC? What's that? No cable here.

 

[harley]

Just looking at the chart (since I don't watch CNBC) it looks more like the low point of a cycle than the end of the channel. I suspect that if we have some sort of market meltdown or some other crisis that effects the market the viewership will go right back up. Nobody needs to watch that crap when things are going good, but they want reassurance when things go south.

 

[dallas27]

Was just reading about this on deepcapture.com. Patrick byrne write an open letter to msnbc mocking them for challenging him but refusing to have him on. He's chronicled kramers illegal actions and they dont like it.


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[samclem]

Just looking at the chart (since I don't watch CNBC) it looks more like the low point of a cycle than the end of the channel. I suspect that if we have some sort of market meltdown or some other crisis that effects the market the viewership will go right back up. Nobody needs to watch that crap when things are going good, but they want reassurance when things go south.

Someone should make a mutual fund of all these stocks that take off when the market tanks. It could be a good hedge. What would be in it?
CNBC and other purveyors of financial whisperings
Gold--for the purest play, use just companies that sell gold retail to the public.
Brokers (?Do they make a lot of commissions when folks bail out?)

 

[Lakewood90712]

The " Cramer on the Daily Show "video.

Jim Cramer Pt. 2 - The Daily Show - Video Clip | Comedy Central

A little dated ( several years old ) , it pretty much sum's up why CNBC ratings has been on a death spiral.

 

[Another Reader]

CNBC was at its best on 9/11. I remember Mark Haines breaking in and saying that some kind of aircraft had flown into the World Trade Center as I was getting ready for work. Mark and the "boys" were speculating on what kind of aircraft would make that size hole in the side of the building when the feed from the live camera on the ground went up. They were speculating on some kind of air traffic control failure when the second plane came into view on a camera on a nearby building and flew into the second tower.

At that point I made the decision to sit tight until I knew what was happening. CNBC had the best coverage that day, especially the first few hours, when no one knew what was going on.

Over the years, programming quality went down, the "boys" got too big for their britches, and I stopped watching CNBC. I was saddened when Mark Haines died, because he did a good job overall as the anchor of the morning program and was the best substitute for Walter Cronkite out there on 9/11.

 

[Sue J]

They are actually doing much of this, with Shows like American Greed, the Profit, which I quite enjoy, and reruns of the Shark Tank and the Apprentice.

I find the Profit to be pretty interesting actually, folks might want to give it a shot.

I really like The Profit, too.

Does anyone remember when TLC channel was The Learning Channel? There was actual science and education going on there. Now it's turned into all reality shows.

Somewhat off topic, but I nominate "Naked and Afraid" as the worst show on tv. It's been on Discovery Channel since last year. I feel sorry for Discovery for having to stoop that low.

 

[Car-Guy]

I much prefer Fox Business. I like Stuart Varney, Cavuto, Charles Payne and the rest of the team there.
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Agree....

 

[JoeWras]

Every channel now wants to become a reality channel since that drives ratings. Something has to give. They cannot all do it, can they?

I banned The Weather Channel from my life when I turned to it to find out about a brewing hurricane to only see "Fat Guys in the Woods" was playing. Yes, that is the name of the show. What do "Fat Guys" have to do with weather?

Ridiculous.

And judging by some of the previews I see for some shows like "Southbeach Tow", etc., it looks like scripts and not reality. Or, at the least, it looks like recreations and interpretations of something that may have happened one day. It sure isn't real time.

 

[audreyh1]

Every channel now wants to become a reality channel since that drives ratings. Something has to give.

I banned The Weather Channel from my life when I turned to it to find out about a brewing hurricane to only see "Fat Guys in the Woods" was playing. Yes, that is the name of the show. What do "Fat Guys" have to do with weather?

Ridiculous.

Yep - very much. My reaction - "whaa happened?!?!?"

Same thing happened to several old favorite channels, and then next thing I know, I'm not watching cable TV at all anymore.

Does anyone remember when TLC channel was The Learning Channel? There was actual science and education going on there. Now it's turned into all reality shows.

Somewhat off topic, but I nominate "Naked and Afraid" as the worst show on tv. It's been on Discovery Channel since last year. I feel sorry for Discovery for having to stoop that low.

Yep - pretty much what happened to me. Any programming I cared to watch simply disappeared.

 

[mpeirce]

Yep - very much. My reaction - "whaa happened?!?!?"

It helps to remember that most cable channels are owned by a handful of companies. Some examples (many are joint ownership):

GE: CNBC, MSNBC, Weather Channel, SyFy, Chiller, Cloo, USA, Universal HD, Bravo, Esquire Network, O2, Sprout, Golf Channel, NBCSN, Telemundo, Mun2

AOL/Time Warner: CNN, HBO (various HBO channels), Cinemax, truTV, TBS,TNT, TCM, NBA-TV, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Boomerang

Viacom: BET, CBS, Music Box, Flix, The Movie Channel, Showtime, (various Showtime channels), MTV, Nickelodeon, TNN, VH-1

ABC: Disney Channel/Cinemagic/Junior/XD, ABC Family, ABC Spark, A&E, History, H2, Bio, FYI, Military History, Lifetime, Lifetime Movies, Lifetime Real Women.
​

it goes on with a few more large owners, but my point is that it's not surprising at all that there only seems like one or two strategies to maximize profits from cable channels since there are only a few owners of most cable channels that make all the decisions.

This is also why it's so hard to move to alternatives to the existing cable model - like ala carte pricing - there are only a few giants who are perfectly happy with the current model.