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In response to our post yesterday about Fox Business Network's three-part interview this week with Joe Skinner, McDonald's Vice Chairman and CEO, CNBC sent us a note suggesting that their upstart rivals are somewhat late to the McDonald's game. 

To wit: earlier this year, CNBC produced an original primetime special called Big Mac: Inside the McDonald’s Empire, which premiered on July 25, 2007, and was CNBC's best ever documentary premiere in both total viewers and adults 25-54.

According to CNBC, the Big Mac doc was the channel's highest performance of any CNBC original program in total viewers in prime time since November 2004. 

The numbers (as provided by CNBC): 

A25-54
9PM: 218,000
12AM: 181,000

Total Viewers
9PM: 514,000
12AM: 307,000

CNBC announced today that it will be increasing its real-estate coverage in a series of ongoing reports under the rubric "The Home Front."

"CNBC Washington-based real estate correspondent Diana Olick, among others, will provide news and analysis affecting home buyers, sellers, owners, builders, lenders and investors," noted the press release. "With housing prices falling in virtually all regions, and foreclosures rising sharply, real estate is a growing concern for millions of Americans."

It'll be interesting to see whether Fox Business, which generally hasn't made real-estate a priority snice launching, follows suit.

TV Newser is reporting that Headline News, Fox Business Network, and CNBC are going with Mr. Mitchell. CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News are going with the dems.

On Thursday, CNBC will dare to go where only a few dozen media organizations have gone before--behind the scenes at the Ultimate Fighting Championship. To wit: CNBC will air a one-hour "original" documentary on Thursday, Ultimate Fighting: From Blood Sport to Big Time, hosted by reporter Scott Wapner.

Says today's press release: "With unusual access, the program tells the story behind the rise of the Ultimate Fighting Championship as both a business and cultural phenomenon. From its controversial beginnings to its mainstream acceptance and millions of dollars in ticket sales, the UFC is making money hand over fist."

CNBC announced this morning that David Pogue, the personal technology columnist for The New York Times, is joining the channel part-time as a contributor to Business Day programming, where he will be regularly sizing up new gadgets and trends in the tech world.

"David is a well-known and respected expert in his field, produces highly entertaining and informative videos, and we are excited he is joining the CNBC team," Jonathan Wald, Senior Vice President for Business News, said in today's release. "We always strive to stay on the pulse of innovation and David will add a new element to the network’s coverage."

NBC is planning to get rid of an entire level of MSNBC's management team, as well as making major cuts at NBC News, according to The New York Post. Two senior MSNBC staffers -- head of primetime programming Bill Wolf, and editorial director Davidson Goldin -- are set to see their jobs eliminated. But the cable network's top shows -- those hosted by Chris Matthews, Keith Olbermann, and Dan Abrams -- are said to be sacrosanct, and will escape the cuts unscathed.

As for CNBC, it too will be unaffected, says The Post, because NBC chief Jeff Zucker wants it at full strength to compete with Fox Business.

Looks like CNBC might give Fox Business a run for its money--at least in terms of childishly bombastic rhetoric. "We have a competitor now in Fox and it is really important to destroy and mutilate them," Mad Money host Jim Cramer told Broadcasting and Cable.

Meanwhile, Thomas Clarke of TheStreet.com, a financial news site that Mr. Cramer helped found, takes a somewhat more blase approach to the Fox launch, telling The Times: "We're kind of indifferent."

Does San Jose, California qualify as Main Street, USA?

Well, in any case, it’s several thousand miles from Wall Street. And on Friday, CNBC's Fast Money with Dylan Ratigan will be broadcasting live from the Computer History Museum in San Jose, CNBC announced today. The cross-country brand extension, according to a CNBC press release, is part of a broader "cradle of innovation tour." No word yet on how the Fox Business Network, which had suggested it plans to position itself as Main Street to CNBC's Wall Street,might counter.

Although, the front lawn of, say, the Computer History Association of California, must look mighty tempting right about now.

For a little over a month, The Wall Street Journal has been in a quiet feud with the cable business channel CNBC—and it’s not because the Journal’s parent company is about to get a new stepdad in News Corp.’s Rupert Murdoch.

In early November, the fashion house Estée Lauder offered the Journal and Women’s Wear Daily an advance tip that the lagging company’s chief executive, William Lauder, planned to relinquish his title within two years, under pressure from investors.

According to a spokesperson at Estée Lauder, The Journal and WWD agreed to run their semi-exclusives on Friday, Nov. 9. It’s a huge story for WWD, which follows the fortunes of Estée Lauder daily; and for The Journal, the opportunity to break big fashion-industry news rated a B1 placement.

But the day before stories were to run, The Journal forwarded an advance copy of its piece to CNBC. A CNBC anchor, whom nobody interviewed by The Observer would name, then sent the piece to a Lauder executive’s BlackBerry, the Lauder spokesperson said.

Irate at seeing the story in circulation before the agreed-upon embargo date, the Lauder public-relations department (which said it has “great respect for CNBC and The Journal”) gave WWD permission to jump the schedule and publish the news on its Web site just after 6 p.m., beating The Journal, a WWD spokesperson said.

The story originally made its way to CNBC according to a 10-year-old arrangement between the newspaper and the cable network. The paper sends out a “sked”—a detailed lineup of stories that appear in the next day’s paper—and occasionally full stories to a Journal newsperson who serves as a liaison between the two news outfits. In exchange, Journal stories, and the reporters who write them, get airtime on the network.

The night that the semi-scoop was lost, the paper was throwing a going-away party for outgoing editor Paul Steiger at the Morgan Library on Madison Avenue. Editors and staffers there were openly grumbling about CNBC’s behavior and the future of the relationship between the two news organizations: There are still five years left on the contract that seals the deal between them.

“It was a huge screw-up,” a Journal staffer said about the leak from CNBC to Lauder. “If that had been done here, that’s a firing offense for a Journal reporter.”

Since the Estée Lauder incident, according to two sources familiar with the relationship, The Journal has cut back significantly on the amount of final copy it volunteers to the cable network in advance. (One of those sources said that the cable network can still get copies of stories if they request them specifically.)

CNBC, meanwhile, contends that all problems are now resolved.

“We continue to work well with The Wall Street Journal,” said Brian Steel, spokesman for CNBC.

A spokesman for The Wall Street Journal declined to comment.

This isn’t the first run-in Dow Jones has had with CNBC in recent months. Back in October, Dow Jones pulled ads for CNBC on its MarketWatch Web site and wsj.com the day that the Fox Business Network debuted, according to a story in The New York Times. A Fox spokesperson told The Wall Street Journal that News Corp. had nothing to do with that decision.

And of course, the folks at Dow Jones have had a lot on their minds lately: On Dec. 13, News Corp. will take over for Dow Jones, putting The Journal and rival Fox Business under the same corporate umbrella.

What Rupert Murdoch’s plans are for the Journal’s ongoing relationship with his new business network’s chief television competitor, nobody seems to know.

CNBC's Donnie Deutsch--who recently told The Observer that Fox Business "will go after me like they go after everyone"--had more to say today about his new rival.

"He's throwing grenades, and I'm a warrior so I respect that," Mr Deutsch told Portfolio.com's Lloyd Grove in an interview today, referring to Fox News president Roger Ailes. "Nobody's curing cancer here, and so people are going take off the gloves and want to knock dukes. That's fucking America, man! That's what this country is, so to me, I'll pick a guy like Roger Ailes any day of the week."

Mr. Ailes, however, may not feel the same way about Mr. Deutsch. He recently told the Columbus Dispatch, "I'm not sure if Donny Deutsch is really the answer for them, even though he announces he is. I'm not sure it's anything more than a very expensive way to meet girls for him."

Jim Cramer has signed a multi-year deal to remain with CNBC, it was announced last night. Here's the release:

CNBC, First in Business Worldwide, today announced that Jim Cramer, host of “Mad Money w/Jim Cramer” (6PM & 11PM ET), has signed a multi-year deal to remain with the network.

“Jim has played an integral part in CNBC’s rebirth. He is not only one of the most respected and successful Wall Street minds but also happens to be a great entertainer,” said Mark Hoffman, CNBC President. “I’m thrilled Jim will remain part of the CNBC family. When Jim Cramer speaks, people listen, and so does the market.”

In addition to hosting “Mad Money,” Cramer will continue his “Stop Trading” segment with CNBC’s Erin Burnett during “Street Signs” (2PM-3PM ET). Cramer will also begin contributing original content to the “Mad Money” homepage (madmoney.cnbc.com) on CNBC.com, the network’s official website.

“With my program, CNBC has given me the opportunity to break down the traditionally complicated stock market to engage and educate the next generation of Wall Street investors,” says Jim Cramer. “Doing ‘Mad Money’ everyday is my passion and I’m excited to be a part of this incredible network. This is the only team I want to play for.”

CNBC’s “Mad Money w/Jim Cramer, ” launched in March 2005, features lively guest interviews, viewer calls and most importantly, the unmatched, fiery opinions of Cramer himself. Cramer serves as the viewer’s personal guide through the confusing jungle of Wall Street investing, navigating through both opportunities and pitfalls with one goal in mind — to help them make money.

Cramer joined CNBC after a 25-year career on Wall Street as a trader and hedge fund manager. Cramer is co-founder of TheStreet.com, a multimedia provider of financial commentary, analysis and news. He currently serves as a markets commentator and advisor for TheStreet.com and is also the “Bottom Line” columnist for New York magazine.

Cramer is a best-selling author, with his latest book Jim Cramer’s Stay Mad for Life: Get Rich, Stay Rich (Make Your Kids Even Richer), hitting shelves on Tuesday, December 4th. Cramer also recently published Mad Money: Watch TV, Get Rich, which is a user’s guide to making the most of his CNBC program as well as Jim Cramer’s RealMoney: Sane Investing in an Insane World, Confessions of a Street Addict and You Got Screwed! Why Wall Street Tanked and How You Can Prosper.

Cramer will also be featured as a boardroom judge alongside Donald Trump and his daughter Ivanka in the upcoming edition of NBC’s “The Celebrity Apprentice,” premiering on January 3rd.

Ted David has worked at CNBC since the business network launched in 1989. He likes his colleagues. Respects his bosses. Enjoys his current gig as a senior anchor of CNBC Business Radio. But when his contract with the network is up this spring, Mr. David will cast his eyes longingly in the direction of a fledging rival.

He would like someday soon to work at the Fox Business Network (FBN).

“I cannot imagine a more tempting possibility,” Mr. David told NYTV when reached by phone. A few days earlier, the industry-news blog TV Newser had reported rumors that Mr. David had been seen recently at the Fox News headquarters. Mr. David denied it, but was far from coy about his interest in FBN.

So why would a seasoned newsman, happy with his current job at the dominant national business network, contemplate jumping to an unproven rival? Mr. David spoke fondly of the long-ago days of CNBC’s infancy, and sounded eager to participate in another start-up. He added that he has “a lot of friends” at FBN, mentioning Alexis Glick, a former CNBC contributor who’s now FBN’s director of business news, and Kevin Magee, FBN’s executive vice president, with whom Mr. David used to work at ABC News. But mostly, Mr. David made clear, his interest in FBN, which is set to launch next month, comes down to one man:

Roger Ailes.

Mr. Ailes served as president of CNBC for several years in the mid-90’s. He is generally credited with pumping up ratings, making the network profitable and instituting a successful strategy of packing prime time with talk shows. In 1996, he left CNBC to help launch Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News Channel. In the public imagination, Mr. Ailes’ success at Fox News has long since eclipsed his role in reviving CNBC. Not so among his former colleagues at CNBC.

“I watched him transform CNBC,” said Mr. David. “The guy is a genius. Before I leave this business I want to work for him again.”

To date, Fox execs have said little in public about their vision for the new network, nor about their strategy for taking on CNBC. Mr. David said he had heard of no specific plans for FBN. His attraction is based on faith. “Anybody who tries to second-guess Roger Ailes is nuts,” he said. “I’m sure whatever it is, it’s carefully thought out and he knows exactly what he’s doing. I know what kind of a great mind he has in terms of running television.”

In preparing for the challenge from FBN, CNBC has recently improved its on-air graphics, beefed up its online presence and cultivated a number of hit personality and talk shows—most notably, Mad Money With Jim Cramer.

Still, doubts persist about CNBC’s programming strategy. Not long ago, in an apparent attempt to break new ground, the network aired a game show of sorts: Fast Money MBA Challenge, in which teams of business-school students square off in Jeopardy-style competitions. But ratings were lackluster and did little to inspire much faith in the network brass’ ability to create hits.

“The general feeling is that Fox will crush CNBC,” one pessimistic CNBC staffer told NYTV. “Politics aside, Ailes is worshiped. The leadership here is in total denial.”

“That’s nonsense,” said a CNBC spokesperson. “Sounds like someone who hasn’t been in the newsroom.” Next Page >