The future of CNBC may not entirely take place on CNBC.
As of Wednesday afternoon, both Apple TV and Roku will distribute CNBC+ to users who purchase a subscription to the nascent service, which makes available live-streams of the business-news outlet’s programs from the U.S., Europe and Asia along with a library of past U.S. shows. CNBC+ costs $14.99 per month.
“Nothing is more essential than live coverage during the day, and being able to get that to our audience how and when they want it is a priority,” says KC Sullivan, president of CNBC, in a recent interview.
A significant part of CNBC’s subscriber base keeps up with the network’s daily markets coverage outside the home, so executives believe some portion of viewers will be eager for a product that lets them watch programming while commuting on a train or as they try to handle dynamics on a trading floor. CNBC is more than 50% ahead of its current subscriber goal for CNBC+, says Sullivan, which has only had minimal promotion. Early research suggests some subscribers are developing regular viewing habits, he adds.
Users can get CNBC+ content by downloading the CNBC app via the Apple and Roku platforms. They can also gain access to CNBC Pro, a separate subscription offering, while pay-TV subscribers can get CNBC’s live U.S. linear feed. The company expects to make CNBC+ available on additional broadband and streaming outlets in months to come.
CNBC is pursuing the venture as then network prepares to be spun off, along with several other cable networks from NBCUniversal. Corporate parent Comcast expects to split the bulk of its cable holdings from the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks and the Peacock streaming service over the course of 2025.
The notion of downloading a mobile app to a streaming platform that is not part of NBC might have been unimaginable in 1989, when NBC and Cablevision launched a cable outlet known as the Consumer News and Business Channel, and hired anchor Neil Cavuto to anchor its first broadcast. Since that time, however, cable has been winnowed by the migration of traditional TV watchers to streaming outlets. Indeed, the subscriber base for CNBC’s main cable outlet is expected to decline, according to Kagan, a research firm that is part of S&P Global Market Intelligence. The company estimates CNBC subscribers will fall to 59.6 million in 2025, compared with 62.7 million last year.
Sullivan envisions other opportunities to get CNBC to people with an interest in financial news — and not just one streaming subscription at a time. “To the C-Suite person, or a trader, or someone in financial services, we are essential,” he says. He suggests there could be “enterprise” opportunites to make CNBC content available to markets professionals via their employers, suggesting a relationship much like different financial-services companies have with a Bloomberg terminal.
“I think there are a lot of businesses that see the essentialness of CNBC content, and would get that to their employees and leadership,” says Sullivan. “It’s high value, and I think it’s a good opportunity.”
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