FNN screenshot, from 1987
The
Financial News Network was a television network that operated throughout
the
The
channel, begun in November 1981 as an offshoot of original "business
television" station KWHY in Los Angeles, was based in nearby Santa Monica,
California, with a studio in New York City. In the same year, FNN opened
operations in
The
network's principal audience was small investors. It also featured a digital
stock ticker running across the lower third of the screen, with stock prices on
the top (white) band and index prices on the bottom (blue) band.
In
1982, FNN, under the leadership of its chairman, the
At
first, the channel aired only during daytime hours on a mix of broadcast
stations and cable television providers. Over-the-air affiliates included:
One
of the broadcast affiliates was WCCO in
In
1985, FNN severed ties with its broadcast stations and established a 24-hour
feed on cable TV only. At night, it added SCORE (television), a mini-network
that aired sports events and news. Also airing in the overnight hours was
Venture, a series of long-form speeches by business leaders, and TelShop, a
shop-at-home service. Harvey "Scott" Ellsworth, who was the creator
and on-air host of the popular radio program, "Scott's Place", that
aired on KFI-AM in
In
the late 1980s, Infotechnology, who also owned United Press International at
the time, bought a 47 percent stake in FNN to become the largest shareholder.
At its height, FNN was available on 3,500 cable systems, reaching a potential
audience of 35 million homes across the country. FNN moved into newly built
modern TV studios and production facilities in the Wang building in
In
1990--only months after beginning its biggest advertising campaign ever--FNN
fell prey to two of the main topics of its broadcasts, a financial scandal and
an accounting dispute. During that year's audit, the network's auditor,
Deloitte & Touche, discovered irregularities on the part of its chief
financial officer, C. Steven Bolen. The irregularities were serious enough that
Deloitte said its 1989 audit couldn't be relied upon. FNN launched an internal
investigation and discovered what it called evidence of unauthorized payments
that Bolen made to himself. Bolen was fired in October. In addition, Deloitte
wanted FNN to report a $28 million investment into a data system for brokers as
an expense. FNN claimed that this would push its balance sheet so far into the
red that it would violate some covenants with its banks, as well as force a
default on its line of credit. FNN replaced Deloitte with Coopers &
Lybrand, and reported a $72.5 million loss for fiscal 1990. Needing a major
cash infusion to stay in business, FNN put itself up for sale in November.
In
February 1991, FNN reached a handshake agreement with a partnership of Dow
Jones & Company and Westinghouse Broadcasting (Group W) for $90 million.
However, just a few days later, FNN agreed to an unexpected $105 million offer
from NBC, owner of FNN's then two-year-old rival, CNBC. NBC had encountered
problems getting cable systems to carry CNBC, and intended to merge CNBC with
FNN (at the time, CNBC was only in 17 million homes). However, matters were
complicated in March when FNN filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, triggering a
lively bidding war for the network.
Group
W and Dow Jones raised their offer to $115 million, only to be turned down on a
technicality by Bankruptcy Court Judge Francis Conrad; Dow Jones and Group W
refused to keep the bidding open until May 31. NBC then raised its offer to
$115 million, which was accepted by Conrad. That decision, however, was
overturned on appeal.
Group
W/Dow Jones and CNBC both significantly raised their bids. Group W/Dow Jones
offered $167 million, while CNBC offered $154 million. However, the CNBC bid
included more cash, and the Dow Jones/Group W bid included payments that were
tied to revenue targets over three years. Conrad awarded FNN to CNBC, feeling
its deal was more realistic.
FNN
went off the air for the last time at 6 pm on May 21, 1991. CNBC immediately
took over FNN's satellite transponder space, more than doubling its audience at
one stroke. It branded its business day programming as "CNBC/FNN
Daytime" until 1992. CNBC incorporated features of FNN's ticker into its
ticker. While most of FNN's employees were fired, a few FNN anchors--including
Bill Griffeth, Ron Insana and Joe Kernen--were retained CNBC. Sue Herera, who
joined FNN at age 21 and very soon became an anchor, moved to NBC and the
brand-new CNBC prior to the demise of FNN. Griffeth and Herera were later
reunited at CNBC and co-anchored "Power Lunch".
In
the spring of 2008, a number of former FNN employees that stayed in touch over
the years began reaching out to each other using social networking tools that
had just recently become available for widespread use. The site “LinkedIn” now sports an “FNN
Alumni” group that is beginning to fill-up with former members of the
Click
the image below to see the New York Daily News article as it appeared in 1987:
Business
This Morning 1988 Christmas show with staff video:
FNN
primetime promo from February 1990 :
FNN
commercial "Goals Changed" from February 1990 :
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This site loosely represents a not-for-profit group of individuals that
used to work together at the FNN company which ceased operation in 1991. There is no relation between these
individuals and the current owners of the brand or trademark “FNN” and/or
“Financial News Network.” All references
to trademarks herein are meant to be in the context of “fair use,” and do not
represent an acknowledgement or endorsement of the content on this site. All rights remain with the owners of the
brands and trademarks mentioned. (Some content courtesy Wikipedia, the free
encyclopedia.)