Bloomberg TV markets editor Josh Lipton is joining CNBC as a markets reporter. His first day is Monday, January 28.

In his new role he will contribute to CNBC TV and on CNBC.com. He was a staff writer for Minyanville and Forbes before entering the TV business.

“An accomplished journalist, Josh will work closely with CNBC’s ace team of reporters and producers who mine the markets every day for real-time news and analysis,” writes CNBC senior VP Nik Deogun in a note to staff today.

More information in the note from Deogun, after the jump.
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This week the World Economic Forum is once again  being held in the sleepy ski town of Davos, Switzerland, and the business networks are on the scene to try and score chats with market shakers and world leaders.

CNBC has anchors Maria Bartiromo and Andrew Ross Sorkin in Davos, along with senior economics reporter Steve Liesman, Sorkin will co-anchor “Squawk Box” from Davos Wednesday-Friday, while Bartiromo and Liesman will be appearing on various programs throughout the week.

Fox Business Network has Liz Claman in Davos, with coverage kicking off Wednesday at 11 AM, and continuing through Friday.

Bloomberg TV has Erik Schatzker, Tom Keene and Francine Lacqua at the Forum, along with reporter Olivia Sterns. BTV coverage starts at 1 AM ET (6 AM GMT) tomorrow, and continues through Friday. Lacqua will anchor “On the Move,” Keene will anchor “Bloomberg Surveillance” and Schatzker will co-anchor “Market Makers” from Davos.

With the stock markets closed today, the business networks have taken three different approaches to covering the events of President Obama’s second Inauguration.

Fox Business is the only network to be live all day today. The network had normal morning programming, and Neil Cavuto anchored coverage of the swearing-in ceremony beginning at 11amET. FBN’s Melissa Francis and Lori Rothman took over once Cavuto wrapped up at 1pmET, and the network will continue with regular weekday programming throughout the afternoon and evening.

CNBC was live for the swearing-in and some post-ceremony analysis, but returned to taped programming at 1pmET. Bloomberg TV has no live coverage planned for today.

Former anti-virus software millionaire turned runaway fugitive John McAfee generated lots of press late last year, as he fled Belize amid questions about a neighbor’s murder. A slew of reporters eventually found him in Guatemala, where he was rushed to the hospital, before being deported back to the United States.

Today, he is making the interview rounds on CNBC and NBC. Around 2:30 PM CNBC will conduct a live interview with McAfee, then later this evening McAfee will be interviewed on “Dateline” as part of a two-hour special at 9 PM on his neighbor’s murder. Keith Morrison traveled to South America to talk to McAfee, and the interview–his most extensive yet–was taped before he was deported.

CNBC and Fox Business will both cover President Obama’s second inauguration ceremony Monday. Here’s what they have planned:

Neil Cavuto will anchor on Fox Business beginning at 11amET. Cavuto will be joined by Washington correspondents Peter Barnes and Rich Edson, who will be reporting live from D.C.

On CNBC, Tyler Mathisen and chief White House correspondent John Harwood will anchor beginning at 11amET. They will be joined by the network’s Washington correspondent, Hampton Pearson, who will be reporting live from DC.

At the Television Critics Association Winter press tour in Pasadena, CNBC pulled back the curtain on its primetime unscripted programming block, dubbed CNBC Prime, and announced the pickup of two new shows. CNBC Prime will debut Tuesday, March 5 with previously announced pickups “Treasure Detectives” and “The Car Chasers.”

The two new shows are “The Big Fix,” which follows an expert in business turnarounds as he helps struggling businesses, and “Family Business Project” (working title) a competition show giving small, family-owned businesses the chance to win big money.

During the announcement, CNBC clarified what it was trying to do in primetime in a way it hasn’t done before. The closest analogy would be that of Nickelodeon and Nick at Nite. During the day, Nickelodeon is a network for kids, but in the evening, it becomes “Nick at Nite,” a network for baby boomers with programming designed to appeal to their sensibilities.

Here is how CNBC described it:
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As the president and members of Congress return to Washington today and tomorrow to try to come to a deal to avert the fiscal cliff, Maria Bartiromo‘s interview with Maryland Democratic Senator Ben Cardin last Thursday continues to reverberate. Bartiromo, clearly annoyed that the president and the congress can’t come to terms to keep us from going off the cliff, went off on Cardin.

“Are you guys just incompetent or what? If you can’t do what the American people pay you to do, why don’t you just step aside and put someone in there that can actually get a deal done?”

After the interview from CNBC’s studio at the NYSE, there were audible cheers from traders who were watching the interview.

Watch it after the jump…

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Ten months after hiring its first alternative programming executive, CNBC has unveiled its new primetime, made up mostly of reality shows produced by outside production companies.

VH1 alum Jim Ackerman joined as Senior Vice President of primetime alternative programming back in February. Now, we’re about to see what he’s been working on.

In March, CNBC will debut two new shows: “Treasure Detectives” and “The Car Chasers.” “Treasure Detectives” comes from Endemol USA, the company behind “Big Brother” “Wipeout” and others. “The Car Chasers” is from ITV Studios America which produces “Hell’s Kitchen” and “Kitchen Nightmares.”

CNBC has also added four new unscripted projects to its development slate, including “The Next Big Big Thing,” “Money Talks,” “Liquidate Your Life,” and “The Big Fix.” (More details on all those shows after the jump.)

“CNBC is collaborating with some of the most creative minds in reality to develop primetime content that appeals to a broader audience yet still embodies the network’s distinct brand and inherent themes,” said Ackerman.

Like Comcast sibling The Weather Channel, CNBC is turning to alternative programming to bring in viewers looking for something more than market moves and economic discussions. In 2012, the only hour of CNBC’s entire day of programming to show growth was the 10pmET hour, when documentaries air.

CNBC’s new primetime will consist of a mix of the new reality shows, existing programs like “American Greed” and “Crime Inc.” and other in-house documentaries.

The two new shows debut Tuesday, March 5 at 9pm and 10pmET.

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Just after 8 PM, House Republicans gathered to see if they had enough votes to pass “Plan B,” the proposal that would help avert the nation from going off the “Fiscal Cliff.” The President had already said that he would veto the bill if it passed the House and Senate, but at the very least the Republicans would have a plan on the table.

The bill did not go to vote, as “Plan B” did not have enough support.

The “big three” general news channels all covered the lack of a vote, and even the business networks–which often do taped programming in primetime–were live.

CNBC and Bloomberg, which usually have documentary-style programming, were live, as was FBN, which was already planning to go live to cover the vote, assuming it happened:

CNBC, which in April will celebrate 24 years on the air, is not having a stellar 2012 in the ratings department. And while it still doubles or even more than triples the viewership of its only rated competitor Fox Business (Bloomberg is not publicly rated), CNBC is declining while FBN is showing growth. The 2012 ratings year ends Dec. 30, but here’s how the networks are stacking up as we go into the holidays.

12/26/11 – 12/17/12:

• CNBC Total Day Average: 171,000 Total Viewers / 51,000 A25-54

• FBN Total Day Average: 63,000 Total Viewers / 14,000 A25-54

CNBC is down -14% in viewers and down -15% in the demo vs. 2011, while FBN is up +2% and up +17%. CNBC is delivering its lowest rated year since 2005 with some shows down as much as -30% vs. last year. Marquee shows “Squawk Box” and “Squawk on the Street” are at 2006 levels. “Closing Bell” is having its lowest rated year ever. The only programw to see growth at CNBC — and only in the demo — is the 10pm hour of documentaries.

The highlights at Fox include “Lou Dobbs Tonight” which put up its best numbers yet (137,000 total viewers / 38,000 demo) topping CNBC’s “The Kudlow Report” in both the third and fourth quarter in younger viewers. Dobbs joined FBN in early 2011.

FBN’s “Varney & Co.” is also having its best year ever averaging 99,000 total viewers and 20,000 in the demo.

In October, Fox Business marked 5 years on the air.