Murdoch sees FBN in over 40 mln homes
NEW YORK (Reuters) - News Corp Chairman Rupert Murdoch told Reuters on Wednesday he sees the recently launched Fox Business Network reaching more than 40 million U.S. homes by next year.
The rival to cable business news market leader CNBC, owned by General Electric, launched last week in a little over 30 million homes.
"I think it's running without a glitch," Murdoch said at the Fox Business launch party here.
Murdoch said he expected Fox Business to be available in about 35 million homes by the end of the year.
Fox Business Network's success depends on improving its distribution, said Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes.
Ailes said the company is currently in negotiations with other cable operators.
"The key now is distribution," he said. "Once we've got distribution, I think it's pretty clear to people that we've got a good product and we'll be bought."
Fox Business is considered one of the biggest launches in U.S. cable television, analysts have said.
The network is seen as just one part of Murdoch's grander ambition to dominate global business news.
News Corp agreed to buy Dow Jones & Co Inc , the publisher of the Wall Street Journal, for $5 billion in July.
Ailes told a crowd of FBN anchors and business stalwarts attending the launch that Murdoch had casually mentioned to him sometime ago how much he admired the Wall Street Journal.
"I was around when he said CNN needs some competition and I was around when he said 'You know I really like the Wall Street Journal, it's a great paper'," Ailes said of Murdoch.
Fox Business, which has been labeled fresh and perky by the press, is off to a great start, both executives said.
Ailes said "everything" about the channel could be improved.
"We're probably operating at about nine or 10 percent of what the channel will be when we're on for a year," he said.
(Additional reporting by Kenneth Li)
