CNBC was originally set up in 1989 to meet a growing demand for dedicated business news channels as Wall Street became an increasingly important part of the US economy.

With just one other competitor initially – Financial News Network which it bought in 1991 – it grew quickly and launched CNBC Asia in 1995 and CNBC Europe in 1996. Today, the global media company attracts more than 355 million unique viewers across all its platforms each month. Its key rivals are Fox Business and Bloomberg Television.