• Los Angeles Times, Friday, February 9, 2007 11:30 AM

Rupert Murdoch has finally announced the long-awaited launch of a business channel that will compete with CNBC for the small -- but sought-after -- audience interested in financial news. The Fox Business Channel, in the works for at least two years, will be overseen by Roger Ailes, the Fox executive who helped shape CNBC more than 10 years ago. The channel is expected to be on basic cable in 30 million homes by the end of this year.

While that is just one-third of the homes reached by CNBC, it is equal to those served by Bloomberg Television, the other business news channel. While some question whether Americans want a third business news channel -- one effort, CNNfn, folded in late 2004 - Ailes says he believes the network would have far-reaching appeal.

The new network further expands the portfolio of Ailes, who is chairman and chief executive of Fox News and chairman of Fox Television Stations. When he launched Fox News in 1996 amid much industry doubt, he assembled a cadre of personalities and a flashy aesthetic which, along with right-wing politics, helped propel the network past CNN in 2002, where it has remained.

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