TalkingBiz Appears to Have Made a Misstep in Breaking Down Fox Business' Ratings

Business news website

put out a post on Thursday breaking down Fox Business Network's ratings. They cited Nielsen data which was provided by a third party. The author of the piece writes that FBN gets "its largest number of viewers in the key 25 to 54 age bracket before noon." Specifically, according to the website, the network's "largest number of viewers in that key demographic occurs between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m." and that "its second-biggest audience in that key demographic occurs in the 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. and the 11 a.m. to noon slots." The two segments that run during this time are the second hour of Stuart Varney's show "Varney & Co." and "Fox Business" which runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. What this data leaves out, however, is the success of Fox Business' primetime lineup with shows such as "Lou Dobbs Tonight" and "the Stossel Show with John Stossel." The reality is that while Stuart Varney's show is drawing strong ratings for the network, they are not the highest. In fact, according to Nielsen Media Research numbers for October, that distinction goes to John Stossel's 10 p.m. program followed by Lou Dobbs Tonight. The second hour of Varney & Co. is in third place, as opposed to first as Talking Biz contended, and Neil Cavuto's 6 p.m. show comes in fourth. Therefore, a more accurate story to tell would not be that FBN draws its best ratings "before noon," but that, in fact, the post-market shows on the network are pulling in the largest number of viewers.