CNBC

A global financial cable satellite news station owned by NBC Universal Group.

Author: Yihan (Kyra) Du
Yihan (Kyra) Du
Yihan (Kyra) Du
I'm Yihan (Kyra) Du, a student at the University of Texas at Austin with a bachelor's degree in finance. My professional journey has been marked by my roles at Morgan Stanley in the IPO and Bank of America in the wealth management teams. I bring a supportive and detail-oriented approach to my work, backed by a strong business aptitude. My expertise spans across financial planning and analysis, financial modeling, IPO processes, reconciliation, and risk analysis, showcasing a well-rounded skill set in the finance sector.
Reviewed By: Matthew Retzloff
Matthew Retzloff
Matthew Retzloff
Investment Banking | Corporate Development

Matthew started his finance career working as an investment banking analyst for Falcon Capital Partners, a healthcare IT boutique, before moving on to work for Raymond James Financial, Inc in their specialty finance coverage group in Atlanta. Matthew then started in a role in corporate development at Babcock & Wilcox before moving to a corporate development associate role with Caesars Entertainment Corporation where he currently is. Matthew provides support to Caesars' M&A processes including evaluating inbound teasers/CIMs to identify possible acquisition targets, due diligence, constructing financial models, corporate valuation, and interacting with potential acquisition targets.

Matthew has a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Business Administration and a Bachelor of Arts in German from University of North Carolina.

Last Updated:March 3, 2024

What Is CNBC?

Consumer News and Business Channel is a global financial cable satellite news station owned by NBC Universal Group. It is a recognized leader in global financial media, and its in-depth analysis and real-time reports have won the trust of the worldwide business community.

Before 1991, the full name of the Consumer News and Business Channel was used as the channel name. After that, only the CNBC abbreviation was used, and this abbreviation was not given any full-text meaning. 

Consumer News and Business Channel and its regional T.V. stations report financial headlines and real-time developments in financial markets.

Consumer News and Business Channel are present in 89 countries worldwide, with 129 reporter stations and 1,700 news editors, which provides Consumer News and Business Channel with unrivaled news reach and coverage. 

This resource advantage has revolutionized global financial news reporting, enabling audiences to seize their investment opportunities and providing global business leaders with sufficient decision-making information.

Key Takeaways

  • CNBC, or Consumer News and Business Channel, is a global financial news station owned by NBC Universal. It's trusted worldwide for its in-depth financial analysis and real-time reports.
  • CNBC's audience includes well-paid influencers and corporate executives. With over 190 million subscribers globally, it plays a significant role in shaping global markets.
  • CNBC offers a mix of financial news, talk shows, and investigative reporting. Live broadcasts cover global market dynamics, and it has regional networks in Europe, Asia, and the United States.
  • CNBC's ratings are influenced by U.S. stock market performance. Despite fluctuations, it has shown resilience and growth. Recent efforts include a varied programming approach.

Understanding The CNBC

The original Consumer News and Business Channel channel opened on April 17, 1989, in Fort Lee, New Jersey. In 1991, Consumer News and Business Channel merged with FNN (Financial News Network), and the original full name, "Consumer News and Business Channel," was no longer used. 

Sue Herera and Ted David are veteran anchors of CNBC and continue to broadcast news to this day. Scott Cohn is also a CNBC correspondent from the beginning. In addition, some reporters from FNN joined Consumer News and Business Channel, like Ron Insana, Bill Griffeth, Joe Kernen, and Jerry Cobb. 

At first, the station's financial programming was broadcast under the name "CNBC/FNN," but it was discontinued in the mid-1990s. Consumer News and Business Channel had relatively high ratings until the dot-com bubble in 1999 and 2000. 

In 1998, Consumer News and Business Channel took over Europe's EBN (European Business News).

Now, Consumer News and Business Channel offer financial news programming from 4 am to 8 pm ET, talk shows, investigative reporting, infomercials, and other programming in the evening and early morning. 

Consumer News and Business Channel will permanently display two lines of marquees at the bottom of the screen, providing real-time quotes for stocks on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), Nasdaq (Nasdaq), and the American Stock Exchange (AMEX), as well as market indices and news summaries. 

Before December 19, 2005, Consumer News and Business Channel had a stack of index and commodity price windows at the bottom right of the screen, but now it has been changed to a sky marker. 
In 2003, Consumer News and Business Channel headquarters moved four miles north from Fort Lee to Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. 

The new headquarters is a fully digital news production and broadcasting system.

The studios at CNBC's global headquarters in the United States are built by PDG Ltd of Beeston, Nottinghamshire, and F.X. Group of Ocoee, Florida. The music used from October 2003 to December 2005 was produced by 615 Music in Nashville, Tennessee.

Who Is The Audience Of CNBC?

CNBC's audience is primarily made up of influencers and corporate executives who are well-paid and have more spending power than most viewers of other T.V. channels. 

Currently, it has more than 190 million subscribers in the United States, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region, playing a massive role in global marketization. Consumer News and Business Channel makes financial news a conversation topic and empowers viewers to invest and make money.

Its programs include financial news channels and other programs tailored to the changing trends of today's economy, tailored for those in the business world who are navigating the increasingly integrated markets of the world.

Consumer News and Business Channel broadcast live 24 hours daily from Monday to Friday, tracking global market dynamics. The live broadcast starts before the Asian market opens after the Asian market closes, before the European and American markets open, and on Wall Street in New York.

Consumer News and Business Channel have three regional financial reporting networks in Europe, Asia, and the United States, organically combining the knowledge of each regional market with a global perspective, enabling viewers to obtain global financial news in real-time at any time and anywhere. 

Highlights on Consumer News and Business Channel include "Squawk Box," "Market Watch," "Market Wrap," and "Business Center."

CNBC And The Business World

On December 19, 2005, Consumer News and Business Channel presented a new look, replacing the version used since October 2003.

It includes new stock animations, new logos for all shows, and the new interface mentioned earlier (stock window becomes sky icon). 

The marquee does not only display the transaction code in the past but instead displays the complete company name. In addition, on June 12, 2006, Consumer News and Business Channel re-adopted the "First in Business Worldwide" slogan, initially used in the late 1990s.

On September 6, 2006, Consumer News and Business Channel made minor changes to the interface, including an improved "Sky Marker Index" that looks similar to Consumer News and Business Channel Europe and an improved version of the marquee that uses a smaller font (so also show more stock traded prices).

On September 18, 2006, CNBC's Worldwide Exchange program launched the FTSE CNBC Global 300 Index. The name suggests that the index comprises 300 global companies across 18 FTSE London industries. 

The index is generally considered to calculate significant stock markets' ups and downs, from the "opening of Asian stocks to the closing of U.S. stocks." It is updated every 15 seconds.

Although "CNBC" contains the three words "NBC," it is only the abbreviation of the NBC television network when it named the station "Consumer News and Business Channel" (Consumer News and Business Channel). 

The full name has been discontinued since the station shortened its name to Consumer News and Business Channel. The three words "NBC" can only be used by its parent company, NBC Universal Group.

CNBC Shows List

Although CNBC's ratings have rebounded significantly since their trough in 2005, the ratings of Consumer News and Business Channel and the performance of U.S. stocks are quite obviously linked.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, CNBC's ratings skyrocketed along with the U.S. stock market. Consumer News and Business Channel regularly beat CNN in daytime ratings. However, U.S. stocks plummeted in 2001, and CNBC's ratings fell as a result.

In 2001, CNBC's daytime viewership peaked at 330,000, just before the Nasdaq hit its peak. After that, CNBC's ratings began to drop from season to season, year after year, until the bottom of the second quarter of 2005, when only 134,000 people watched Consumer News and Business Channel daily.

List Of CNBC Shows
EST Name Content
4 am-6 am Worldwide Exchange The world's first synchronous news report by anchors in the United States, Europe, and Asia, bringing first-hand news on U.S. futures trading, intraday European stocks, and Asian stock closings
6 am-9 am Squawk Box Provide the audience with morning financial news and company performance news
9 am-11 am Squawk on the Street Live Broadcast from "above" (2nd floor) of the New York Stock Exchange, "overlooking" the opening of U.S. stocks
11 am-12 pm The Call The focus is on the live real-time trading of U.S. stocks in early trading
12 pm-2 pm Power Lunch Examining the people, companies, and trends affecting Wall Street
2 pm-3 pm Street Signs Focus on the trends and global events affecting U.S. stocks, and provide real-time trading information on U.S. stocks
3 pm-5 pm Closing Bell Changes in the disk in the last hour before the close, as well as real-time reports on the closing market
5 pm-6 pm Kudlow&Company Provide market and economic commentary and guest access
6 pm -7 pm Mad Money A fast-paced show with advice for incoming Call-in viewers
7 pm-8 pm On the Money Financial news updates of the day
TBD Fast Money A fast-paced roundtable discussion of stocks suitable for short-term investments.

From this trough in ratings, Consumer News and Business Channel began to rebound as the U.S. stock market fell and increased its ratings - the number of viewers during the day is now sitting firmly at 211,000 people (as of mid-2006).

While such results pale compared to Fox News and CNN's ratings today, CNBC's ratings have grown steadily by 57 percent in just one year.

CNBC's latest attempt to attract more viewers is to introduce a "chessboard"-style of programming. Throughout the week, Consumer News and Business Channel will be putting on various programming that might appeal to viewers, including documentaries, town-hall-style discussions, and more.

It's important to note that most Consumer News and Business Channel viewership groups, especially during the day, are "out of home," These people are not usually measured in Nielsen's ratings.

Therefore, it can be fair to say that the total number of Consumer News and Business Channel's natural audiences is much higher than the reported amount.

The slogan for CNBC America

Below are the slogans for the Consumer News and Business Channel.

  • 2006 - present: First in Business Worldwide (main slogan)
  • 2005 - present: America's Business Channel (minor slogan)
  • 2004 - 06/11/2006: The World Leader in Business News
  • 2003: Make It Your Business on CNBC
  • 1998 - 2002: Profit From It
  • 1997: First in Business, First in Talk

NBC is best known for its refreshing interface design for viewers. Contains different types of visual and sound effects. In the interface design of the early 1990s, there were already "surprise" audiences to meet the requirements of general audiences.

Researched and Authored by Yihan Du | LinkedIn

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