Split personality?
Talking Biz News’ Chris Roush blogs about whether CNBC is suffering from a split personality, one that plays to Wall Street and another the plays to Main Street…
Update: Whoops. I put up a link to Ben Affleck on Hardball by mistake. Fixed
Back in August, Hoffman told Broadcasting & Cable that CNBC is “an investor network. We always frame the biggest business stories of the day and the inherent conflict of business. That resonates with our audience, which is the wealthiest audience out there.”
So, why is it that CNBC is increasingly putting a “Main Street” focus on its coverage? Could it be that Fox Business Network — which will launch on Monday — has the leader running scared because it says it will focus on business news for “Main Street”?
I ran a search on “Main Street” on the CNBC web site this afternoon. And what I found — in addition to the Fox Business Network press releases announcing its new hires, which I don’t think CNBC really wants on its site — was a number of CNBC shows or segments focusing on “Main Street.”
CNBC is getting nervous. Not because they will sink in the near future, but in five years or so. By the time the Dow Jones contract expires, CNBC will be wishing it had a more variety of talent. (Not Just Burnet, Radigan, Bartiromotron.
Comment by jmkaib — October 11, 2007 @ 8:34 pm
Huh? Why did the link lead me to Box Office bomb Bennifer?
Comment by Lurker — October 11, 2007 @ 8:39 pm
I think Ben is MSNBC’s chief political correspondent now. Apparently he has given up acting. (seriously, how can going on Hardball be good for him?)
Comment by jmkaib — October 11, 2007 @ 8:53 pm
For years, CNBC has been saying how their audience has such a large per capita income (i.e., millionaire investors, Wall Street types, etc.). Now they want to be know as a venue to be watched by “Main Street”? They need to make up their minds as to which audience they want to attract.
Comment by Missy — October 11, 2007 @ 10:59 pm
Yeah…I blew the link. Fixed.
Comment by Spud — October 12, 2007 @ 12:01 am
I think that guy is too simple minded. Since Fox says we’re Main Street and they’re Wall Street he thinks CNBC has nothing to worry about and isn’t really going to be a competitor.
Comment by Lurker — October 12, 2007 @ 9:13 am