Fox News

‘Varney & Co.’ and ‘Kudlow’ Mark Four Years as the Top Two Business Programs in Television

NEW YORK – January 28, 2026 – FOX Business Network (FBN) closed out January 2026 securing double-digit wins over CNBC in business day, market hours and total day viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research. Additionally, Varney & Co. and Kudlow started the year as the top two programs in business news for the fourth year in a row. 

Marking nine consecutive months besting CNBC in business day viewers (236,000, a 19% advantage) and 22 months leading total day (138,000 viewers, an 18% advantage), FBN kicked off the year completely dominating the business news competition. Across market hours, the network also notched a 14% advantage (234,000 viewers) over CNBC for the ninth straight month. Notably, January 2026 saw record-highs for FBN in business day and market hours, dating back to December 2022 and October 2022, respectively.

FBN’s three-hour market opener Varney & Co. (9 AM-12 PM/ET; 300,000 viewers) was the number one business news program in January, securing a 24% lead over CNBC’s Squawk on the Street for the 47th month straight. Meanwhile, Larry Kudlow’s eponymous Kudlow (4 PM/ET) followed, outranked CNBC’s Closing Bell with a whopping 62% advantage, drawing 269,000 viewers and marking the program’s 52nd consecutive monthly win. 

The pre-market program, Mornings with Maria (6-9 AM/ET) with Maria Bartiromo led CNBC’s Squawk Box by 5% with 115,000 viewers, securing the program’s ninth straight win. Notably, the program outpaced CNBC during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland by 5%.  The Big Money Show (12-2 PM/ET) delivered 225,000 viewers, Making Money with Charles Payne (2 PM/ET) saw 200,000 viewers and Liz Claman’s The Claman Countdown (3 PM/ET) secured 201,000 viewers for the month. 

During post-market coverage, FBN’s The Evening Edit (5 PM/ET; 198,000 viewers) and The Bottom Line (6 PM/ET; 151,000 viewers) led CNBC’s Fast Money and Mad Money by 25%. On Fridays, Maria Bartiromo’s Wall Street (Fridays, 7-7:30 PM/ET) saw 108,000 viewers with a 54% advantage, while Barron’s Roundtable (Fridays, 7:30-8 PM/ET; 82,000 viewers) delivered a 17% advantage over CNBC’s Shark Tank.

FBN ended January delivering three of the top 10 cable news programs with affluent audiences among the 25-54 demo. Maria Bartiromo’s Wall Street, Barron’s Roundtable and The Evening Edit all secured spots in the top 10 with a median income of $210,100 or more. Varney & Co., Kudlow, The Big Money Show, Kudlow and Mornings with Maria rounded out the top 20 with viewers drawing in $159,700 or more. 

***Below is the data according to Nielsen Media Research 

Ratings for the month of January 2026 

Business Day (M-F 9:30 AM-5 PM/ET)

FBN: 236,000 total viewers and 13,000 A25-54

CNBC: 199,000 total viewers and 46,000 A25-54 

Market Hours (M-F 9 AM-4 PM/ET)

FBN: 234,000 total viewers and 13,000 A25-54

CNBC: 206,000 total viewers and 48,000 A25-54 

Total Day (M-F)

FBN: 138,000 total viewers and 10,000 A25-54

CNBC: 117,000 total viewers and 28,000 A25-54 

**Program Specials Excluded​** 

Sourcing: Nielsen, Live + SD. Big Data + Panel, Jan’26 (12/29/25-01/23/26). 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).

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 more than 60 million homes in all markets across the United States, including on FOX One. 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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