ESPN continues its recent trend of acquiring business-savvy reporters with its latest hire. TVNewser has learned that Bloomberg TV’s sports business reporter Michele Steele is joining the Worldwide Leader as on-air talent.

Steele is the second business network talent to depart for Bristol in recent weeks: ESPN hired Fox Business Network anchor Chris Cotter last month. The channel also recently hired a sports business reporter of its own in Kristi Dosh, who founded the Business of College Sports blog.

Bloomberg TV meanwhile has seen a small exodus of talent. In the last few weeks producer Mark Berniker left the channel while managing editor Dan Colarusso jumped to Reuters. That said, Bloomberg has also been adding staffers to its ranks, including Courtney Chapman and Wendy Brundige from ABC, Stephanie Ruhle from Deutsche Bank and Justin Dial from CNN.

Fox Business anchor Chris Cotter is leaving the friendly confines of News Corp.’s 6th avenue headquarters for the sprawling campus of ESPN’s base in Bristol, Connecticut.

SportsGrid reports that Cotter has accepted a job at the Worldwide Leader starting early next year. Cotter is no stranger to sports journalism. Before joining FBN he was a  reporter and anchor for SportsnetNY, the cable channel owned by the New York Mets, and before that covered sports for other local stations. No word on what he will be doing at ESPN.

Fox Business Network, the 3-and-half year old sibling to Fox News Channel, enters a new era Monday as the network becomes a full service client of Nielsen.

As we revealed yesterday, the network has a long road ahead to catch market leader CNBC. But the green shoots are appearing. Tuesday’s 11am hour was the second highest-rated telecast for that hour. Still, FBN EVP Kevin Magee is aware of the challenges: “We have to get the distribution up and get in front of people’s eyes. Because we know when they find us, they like what they see and they stick.”

Magee, who’s had stints at CNBC and ABC News, joined Fox News in 2000 and was given the reigns of FBN at launch. “I always say, people watch people. They watch the anchors they know. I believe that our talent is better than their (CNBC’s) talent,” says Magee. “It’s as simple as that. And we’re breaking through.”

FBN is also breaking through to the most affluent consumers. According to a Mendelsohn survey, which measures heads of households making $100,000 a year, CNBC has about 30% of that market, while FBN is next with 12%, followed by Yahoo Finance (7.6%), Bloomberg (5.9%) and the Wall Street Journal (5.6%).

TVNewser: What do you think being a full service client of Nielsen will mean to the perception of the network?

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Fox Business Network is reworking its dayside lineup to make room for its latest hire, former Bloomberg TV reporter Lori Rothman.

Rothman will join Chris Cotter as co-anchor of a new 1 PM program.

At 11 AM, Dagen McDowell and Connell McShane will serve as co-anchors, with Cheryl Casone handling the noon time period solo.

Talking Biz news has the details of the new lineup.

The rest of the dayside schedule will remain unchanged.

> WaPo reports that the Newseum will host an event entitled “First Draft of History” in October, bringing together media and administration officials on the record. Newsers set to appear include: “Charlie Gibson and Brian Williams, along with Dan Rather, David Gregory, Chris Matthews, Maria Bartiromo, Chuck Todd, Chris Wallace and Jim Lehrer.”

> CNN “American Morning” booker Beth Anne Rototori got married this weekend in Newport, RI and we were sent this photo of CNN staffers celebrating despite the weather. Congrats!

> In a new partnership, Fox Business Network’s David Asman will be doing a 6pmET market recap on the Tennis Channel (starting today) and TC’s Kevin Frazier will be coming on FBN’s “Money for Breakfast” to deliver a recap of the US Open. This morning to help celebrate the partnership, FBN’s Charles Payne and Chris Cotter played Doubles Champs, Bob and Mike Bryan on a special Fox court. Video of Payne and Cotter chest bumping is after the jump at the two and a half minute mark. (Try to watch it without flinching a little.)

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TVNewser has confirmed the New York Daily News story by Bob Raissman that mentions SNY sports anchor Chris Cotter is moving to FBN as a reporter/anchor. (We can also confirm it is called “Fox Business Network,” not “Fox Business Channel” as the Daily News wrote.)

“Every night I watched games and figured out what I was going to talk about the next day,” he told the Daily News. “Now I have to get in the same mode with business news.”

Cotter says he left SNY after contract negotiations stalled. He worked in corporate finance and marketing before beginning a 12-year career in sports media.