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Murdoch's rival to CNBC set for October launch

"With News Corp moving forward on FBN with or without DJ [Dow Jones], it sends a clear message to the DJ board and the Bancrofts that News Corp does not have to own DJ."

Pali Research, analyst firm

News magnate Rupert Murdoch will expand his media empire with a business news channel to challenge industry leader CNBC, as he presses on with a bid to add the Wall Street Journal to his portfolio.

The global media mogul has set Oct. 15 as the launch date of the new Fox Business Network, a project Murdoch has coveted for years and that aims to compete directly with CNBC, a branch of NBC Universal (owned by General Electric).

CNBC dominates television screens in most Wall Street offices, and has maintained a grip on the market since CNN shuttered its business channel, CNNfn in 2004.

But Fox Business Network (FBN), is already confident of widespread distribution, because major US cable operators Comcast and Time Warner have pledged to broadcast it, Fox said.

The new channel comes amid his hostile bid to buy Dow Jones & Co, which is controlled by the Bancroft family and includes the prestigious financial daily the Wall Street Journal.

"With News Corp moving forward on FBN with or without DJ [Dow Jones], it sends a clear message to the DJ board and the Bancrofts that News Corp does not have to own DJ," analyst firm Pali Research said.

However, being able to take over the group that owns the Wall Street Journal and the Dow Jones financial newswire would certainly prove a crucial asset for Murdoch's new venture, and it would destabilize CNBC.

Dow Jones and the Wall Street Journal, with their team of 700 journalists, furnish a major chunk of the news put out by CNBC, and a partnership deal between the channel and news service runs in principle through 2012.

But Murdoch, who on May 1 offered US$5 billion to take over Dow Jones, has still not received a response from the Bancroft family.

Amid newsroom outcry that a Murdoch bid could compromise editorial standards, the family has even sought alternatives, such as investors Ron Burkle and Brad Greenspan, who have proposed a partial takeover.

Analysts believe the negotiations with the Bancroft family are likely to include a payment to break the contract between Dow Jones and CNBC.

Taking on CNBC, a pillar of Wall Street since 1989, represents a new gamble for Murdoch, who has succeeded against all odds in getting his Fox News channel to dethrone CNN as the leading cable news channel in the US.

But even that coup is not enough to fulfill the man behind the multi-billion dollar media empire, particularly when faced with a niche market that could prove extremely profitable.

Analysts believe -- since GE does not release exact figures -- CNBC brought in US$700 million in revenue and US$275 million net profit last year.

CNBC is worth about US$5 billion, according to Pali Research.

With an audience estimated at 200 million households worldwide -- 90 million of those in the US -- CNBC is well ahead of its nearest competitor, Bloomberg, which reaches 49 million viewers.

And CNBC's audience is rich and powerful: On average households that watch CNBC possess US$1 million and 52 percent of viewers are on management positions, according to a 2003 poll.
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