CNBC

Consumer News and Business Channel (CNBC) is an American business news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group unit of Comcast's NBCUniversal. The network broadcasts live business news and analysis programming during the morning, daytime trading day, and early-evening hours, with the remaining hours (such as weekday prime time and weekends) filled by business-related documentaries and reality television programming, as well as occasional NBC Sports presentations. CNBC operates an accompanying financial news website, CNBC.com, which includes news articles, video and podcast content, as well as subscription-based services. CNBC's headquarters and main studios are located in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, while it also maintains a studio at the Nasdaq MarketSite in Times Square, New York City.

CNBC was founded in April 1989 as a joint venture between NBC and Cablevision. Following its 1991 bankruptcy, NBC acquired the competing Financial News Network (FNN) and merged it into CNBC, while also acquiring Cablevision's stake in CNBC to give it full ownership. In addition to its U.S. operations, CNBC operates the international branches CNBC Europe and CNBC Asia, and is involved in other international affiliates via joint ventures and franchise arrangements. In 2023, CNBC had higher total day and primetime viewership than its chief rival, Fox Business, but finished behind Fox in trading day viewership.

CNBC's roots date back to the founding in 1979 of the Satellite Program Network (SPN), which showed a low-budget mix of old movies and instructional and entertainment programs. The channel later changed its name to Tempo Television. After initially signing a letter of intent to acquire Tempo, NBC opted for a deal to lease the channel's transponder in June 1988. On this platform, and under the guidance of Tom Rogers, the channel was relaunched on April 17, 1989, as the Consumer News and Business Channel with Neil Cavuto anchoring this first broadcast. NBC and Cablevision initially operated CNBC as a 50–50 joint venture, and it was headquartered in Fort Lee, New Jersey. Sue Herera and Scott Cohn joined CNBC at its inception.

CNBC had considerable difficulty getting cable carriage at first, as many providers were skeptical of placing it alongside the longer-established Financial News Network. By the winter of 1990, CNBC was in only 17 million homes – less than half of FNN's potential reach – despite the size of NBC, its parent.

After an accounting scandal, FNN filed for bankruptcy protection on March 2, 1991, and put itself up for sale. After a bidding war with a Dow Jones & Company–Westinghouse Broadcasting consortium, CNBC was awarded FNN by a bankruptcy judge for $154.3 million on May 21, 1991, and merged the two operations. CNBC hired around 60 of FNN's 300-person workforce, including Joe Kernen who is still with the channel. Other former FNN's workforce were hired by Bloomberg Television. The deal increased the distribution of the network to over 40 million homes, more than doubling its potential audience at one stroke. Cablevision sold its 49.5% stake in CNBC to NBC upon completion of the deal. CNBC adopted many elements of FNN's on-air presentation, branding its daytime programming as "CNBC/FNN Daytime" until 1992. CNBC added several features of FNN's on-air ticker to its own ticker.

Roger Ailes was hired as the president of CNBC in August 1993, tasked by NBC CEO Bob Wright with turning around the struggling network. Ailes resigned in January 1996 due to disagreements with management including the decision by NBC management to form a joint venture with Microsoft that included the rebrand of "America's Talking" as MSNBC. Under the leadership of Ailes, annual revenue at CNBC rose from $43 million to $110 million.

In June 1995, CNBC launched the Hong Kong-based CNBC Asia, and CNBC Europe, headquartered in London, in March 1996.

In December 1997, CNBC formed a strategic alliance with Dow Jones, including content sharing with Dow Jones Newswires, The Wall Street Journal, MarketWatch, and Barron's and the rebranding of the channel as "a service of NBC and Dow Jones". As part of the agreement, Dow Jones merged their competing business news channels—London-based European Business News and Singapore-based Asia Business News—into CNBC Europe and CNBC Asia respectively, with CNBC shutting down its Hong Kong–based operation and relocating the new CNBC Asia to ABN's Singapore studios.