Has Fox Business Found Its Star? Imus Premiere Gets Strong Ratings

Radio legend Don Imus premiered on Fox Business Network yesterday, and according to ratings obtained by Mediaite, the show was a big hit.

Here’s a look.

Imus’ show got an average of 177,000 total viewers yesterday morning from 6-9amET. The last time numbers were reported for FBN, their business day (5am-9pmET), the average was around 21,000. Imus’ total viewer figure was at least 1000% better than the previous program, Money For Breakfast.

At 7amET, the show had its best hour, averaging 202,000 (Glenn Beck was a guest that hour). Other big name guests yesterday included Sen. John McCain and Rolling Stone writer Matt Taibbi.

The show definitely skewed toward an older audience – with just 9,000 in the A25-54 demographic. In the 35-64 demo, the show averaged 73,000.

An FBN spokesperson, as has been the case in the past, would not confirm or deny the ratings, citing the Nielsen policy of FBN not being a full service client.

Obviously this is just one day, but it signals big things for the high risk/high reward move to insert Imus into the FBN lineup. For comparison, the 177,000 premiere rating was better than their business competition, CNBC’s Squawk Box, averaged during the month of September (and topped Squawk Box yesterday as well, which got 151,000).

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