FOX BUSINESS NETWORK CLOSES 2025 LEADING CNBC IN VIEWERS ACROSS THE BOARD FOR THE FIRST TIME IN NETWORK HISTORY
‘Kudlow’ and ‘Varney & Co.’ Place as Top Two Programs in Business News for Fourth Consecutive Year
CNBC Scores Lowest Rated Year Since 1992 with Primetime Viewers
NEW YORK – January 2, 2026 – FOX Business Network (FBN) closed out 2025 as the top business network leading CNBC with double digit wins in business day, market hours and total day viewers for the first time in network history, according to Nielsen Media Research. FBN’s Kudlow and Varney & Co. were the top two business programs for the year, marking the network’s fourth consecutive year with the top two spots. Meanwhile, CNBC notched its lowest rated year since 1992 with primetime viewers.
In commenting on the ratings, FOX News Media President and Executive Editor Jay Wallace said, “FOX Business Network has become the destination for top CEOs, financial experts, and key officials throughout Washington. Our best-in-class team is the reason why we are the only business network to see year-over-year growth and an historic win over CNBC.”
Delivering double digit wins across the board for the first time ever, FBN closed out the year notching 226,000 business day viewers with a 19% lead, 220,000 market hour viewers with a 13% lead and 139,000 total day viewers with a 16% lead over its competition. CNBC struggled to maintain its primetime audience seeing its lowest rated year since 1992 with 112,000 viewers and 27,000 Adults 25-54 viewers.
Continuing their reign as the top two business programs, Kudlow and Varney & Co. saw double-digit wins over their hourly competitors for the fourth consecutive year. The top show in business news, Larry Kudlow’s eponymous Kudlow (4PM/ET) nabbed 288,000 viewers beating Closing Bell by an astounding 70%. Following in second, the market opener Varney & Co. (9AM-12PM/ET) saw 276,000 viewers, besting Squawk on the Street/Money Movers by 32%. Additionally, the network held four of the top 10 business programs with total viewers including Kudlow, Varney & Co., The Evening Edit and The Big Money Show.
The pre-market program, Mornings with Maria (6-9 AM/ET) anchored by Maria Bartiromo, topped its competition Squawk Box by 16% with 124,000 viewers, its third straight yearly win. During market-open hours, The Big Money Show (12-2 PM/ET) saw 194,000 viewers, Making Money with Charles Payne (2 PM/ET) delivered 180,000 viewers and Liz Claman’s The Claman Countdown (3 PM/ET) captured 180,000 viewers to close out the year. Post-market programming saw double-digit advantages including The Evening Edit (5PM/ET; 201,000 viewers) with a 35% lead compared to CNBC’s Fast Money and The Bottom Line (6 PM/ET; 161,000 viewers) which saw a 32% win over CNBC’s Mad Money. On Fridays, Maria Bartiromo’s Wall Street (Fridays, 7-7:30 PM/ET) delivered a staggering 43% advantage over CNBC’s programming, marking the program's second win over CNBC in all time. Meanwhile, Barron’s Roundtable secured 72,000 viewers, the program's highest rated year ever with total viewers.
Additionally, FBN saw five of the top 15 most affluent cable news programs with younger viewers. Programs included Varney & Co., Kudlow, The Big Money Show, The Claman Countdown and The Evening Edit with an average income of $141,937 or greater.
Ratings data for 2025 according to Nielsen Media Research:
Business Day (M-F 9:30 AM-5 PM/ET)
FBN: 226,000 total viewers and 12,000 A25-54
CNBC: 190,000 total viewers and 41,000 A25-54
Market Hours (M-F 9 AM-4 PM/ET)
FBN: 220,000 total viewers and 12,000 A25-54
CNBC: 194,000 total viewers and 43,000 A25-54
Total Day (M-F)
FBN: 139,000 total viewers and 10,000 A25-54
CNBC: 120,000 total viewers and 27,000 A25-54
*Program Specials Excluded
Sourcing: Nielsen, Live + SD. Big Data + Panel, 2025 (12/30/24-12/26/25). Business Day (M-F 9:30am-5pm), Market Hours (M-F 9am-4pm), M-F Total Day (Based on each network’s Nielsen defined programming day). Business News Ranker M-F 5am-8pm Business Programs (Excludes Specials & Repeats). Cable News Median Income: Nielsen, Live + SD - Big Data + Panel, 2025 (12/30/24-12/26/25) Cable News Program Ranker M-F Total Day 6a-6a - A25-54 Median Income, 30+ telecasts, excludes specials and repeats.
FOX Business Network (FBN) is a financial news channel delivering real-time information across all platforms that impact both Main Street and Wall Street. Headquartered in New York — the business capital of the world — FBN launched in October 2007 and is currently the top business channel on television. The network is available in nearly 60 million homes in all markets across the United States. Owned by Fox Corporation, FBN is a unit of FOX News Media and has bureaus in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C.
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