In a Variety story about the recent ratings successes of CNBC, John Dempsey delves into the lack of ratings for CNBC's nearly 9-month-old competitor, Fox Business Network.

For now, it's next to impossible to get a reading on how well FBN is doing, because it's not a full-service client of Nielsen: Even though FBN gets ratings data for internal use, it can't publish them, and Nielsen can't make them available to media buyers or other networks. Some in the industry are skeptical about the lack of audience data for a network that reaches 35 million subscribers and boasts of shelling out $100 million in startup costs. One skeptic, veteran network news analyst Andrew Tyndall, says, "If the PR people at Fox Business had any numbers to brag about, you can bet they'd be doing it. Their silence speaks volumes."

Well, FBN isn't silent on this issue. A network spokesperson tells TVNewser, "Andrew is both misinformed and grossly out of the loop — per Nielsen, we're prohibited from releasing any ratings at this stage. Perhaps he should stick to tallying story counts on newscasts."

Back to CNBC, and who Dempsey thinks should get the credit for the NBCU network's growth...

CNBC's overall numbers and viewership among its target 25-54 audience grew by double-digit percentages in both 2006 and 2007. Dempsey writes that much of the credit goes to longtime NBC exec, now CNBC's SVP of business day programming (5a-7pET) Jonathan Wald. "People seem hungrier than ever to watch us to find out what's going on in the economy," Wald tells Dempsey.

On the down side, CNBC dropped off by 6% year to date in its target audience of people 25 to 54, for an average of 84,000. Thus, more people over the age of 50 are watching CNBC this year. But that's not necessarily the kind of downer it would be for an entertainment network: The kind of advertisers who buy CNBC, including financial-services companies and luxury-car manufacturers, often pitch their products to older people, particularly educated ones with lots of investments who dote on business news.

But Wald keeps his eye on the programming.

Wald wants CNBC to deliver lots of information presented without Wall Street jargon, but he's also gung-ho for dramatic television. Powerful personalities including Maria Bartiromo, Erin Burnett, Dylan Ratigan, Jim Cramer and Larry Kudlow have enticed more viewers to their various shows this year.

And you'll never see just one expert as the guest on a CNBC show. The network's bookers seek out two or more guests for each show. "We want conflict," Wald says. "The buyer vs. the seller, clashing at the intersection of fear and greed."