Fox Business tops total viewers category in business news for first quarter of 2018

Fox Business Network finished the first three months of 2018 as the most-watched business network, according to Nielsen Media Research.

It marks the sixth consecutive quarter the network has won its category.

The year in business news has been marked largely by volatile markets, with the Dow Jones industrial average particularly experiencing wild swings in losses and gains, helping to lead Fox Business to its highest-rated quarter in “Business Day” viewers since the network launched in 2007.

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Overall, Fox Business averaged 239,000 viewers in Business Day ratings, up 13 percent from the same time last year. The Business Day category includes programming from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

“FBN had six of the top seven business programs on cable,” according to a network release based on Nielsen Data. “Additionally, the network outpaced rival CNBC across the all-important Business Day and Market Hours dayparts in total viewers.”

CNBC, which has been on the air since 1989, did edge Fox Business in the key 25–54 demographic that advertisers covet most, averaging 35,000 viewers in the category compared to 31,000 on Fox Business.

The top five business cable news programs for the first three months of the year were Fox Business’s “Lou Dobbs Tonight,” with 368,000 total viewers, “Varney & Co.,” with 290,000, CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street,” with 230,000, Fox Business’s “Countdown to Closing Bell,” with 229,000, and “Cavuto Coast to Coast,” with 219,000 total viewers.

CNBC announced in 2015 that it would no longer rely on Nielsen ratings to measure its daytime audience, turning to rival Cogent Reports instead. The network still uses Nielsen to measure its primetime audience.

The financial network made the switch after complaining for years that Nielsen fails to track “out of home” viewing in locations such as airports, gyms, restaurants and offices.

The business news ratings come as the Dow is has dropped 2.5 percent year-to-date heading into this week and is down 9.4 percent from its all-time high of 26,616.71 set during the day on Jan. 26.