24/7 Wall St.

It may be that when the stock market is not moving up or down 20% a month that people lose interest. That seems to be the case if the new CNBC ratings are any indication. They fell 50% in October compared to the same month a year ago, according to Nielsen. During “business day” viewing hours from 5 AM to 7 PM the drop was even worse at 52%.

Jim Cramer, whose popularity has been responsible for almost all the success of TheStreet.com (NASDAQ:TSCM), has carried CNBC on his back for some time due to the high ratings of his “Mad Money” show. The ratings for the program dropped 52% in October.

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CNBC’s very small competitor Fox Business may have been smart to get cowboy shock jock, Don Imus, now nearly 70, as its morning host. He is, at least, a broadcasting stable will millions of listeners who appear to follow him anywhere and through any weather. His presence is already helping ratings at Fox Business.

The viewing public may have tired of hearing about the markets after over a year of relentlessly hysterical news which has been both terribly bad in some patches and improbably good in others.

The business networks may have to wait for decades until the next stock market crash and credit market meltdown to get all of their viewers back.

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Executive Producer: Philip MacDonald

Source: Zero Hedge