CNBC Europe
Consumer News and Business Channel Europe is a business and financial news television channel which airs across Europe. The station is based in London, where it shares the Adrian Smith-designed 10 Fleet Place building with organisations including Dow Jones & Company. Along with CNBC Asia, the channel is operated by the Singapore-headquartered CNBC subsidiary company CNBC International, which is in turn wholly owned by Versant, a subsidiary of Comcast pending its spin-off to their shareholders in 2026.
As the most viewed pan-European financial TV channel according to the 2010 EMS survey, the broadcaster reaches over 100 million households across the continent. CNBC Europe produces four hours of live programming each weekday and airs reports and content for its global sister stations and the outlets of NBC News.
History
1990s
CNBC Europe began broadcasts in March 1996, as a wholly owned subsidiary of NBC. On 9 December 1997, the channel announced that it would merge with the Dow Jones news channel in Europe, European Business News, which had been on air since 1995. The merger took place in February 1998, upon which the channel then became known officially as "CNBC Europe – A Service of NBC and Dow Jones". The channel also aired on NBC Europe during the European business day until its closure in mid-1998.2000s
CNBC Europe has leaned generally on the U.S. CNBC on-air graphical look in the past. However, in June 2003, it revamped a number of its programmes, taking many of them away from the U.S. formats. CNBC Europe re-launched its on-air image in September 2004, but instead of adapting the U.S. title sequences for programmes, designed all of its title sequences itself from scratch.In July 2005, NBC Universal announced that it would be acquiring the Dow Jones stake in CNBC Europe, subject to required regulatory clearances. On 30 December 2005, CNBC Europe became a wholly owned subsidiary of NBC Universal. Dow Jones continues to provide content to the channel. On 1 January 2006, in line with this, the channel dropped the "A Service of NBC Universal and Dow Jones" tagline.
On 18 September 2006, CNBC Europe debuted a new graphics package, which is similar to that used by its U.S. counterpart. Like CNBC Asia, it elected to keep the previous theme music. In addition, CNBC Europe also elected to keep its September 2004 opening titles for most programmes.
The channel adopted a new schedule on 26 March 2007 which included a new pan-regional programme, Capital Connection. New title sequences were given to Power Lunch Europe and Europe Tonight to coincide with changes to the form and content of those programmes, but unlike CNBC Asia, no other changes were made to the channel's on air look on this date.
On 7 January 2008, the channel unveiled a revamped studio and new "lower thirds". The lower-third style was distinct to CNBC Europe, but adopted some elements of the CNBC U.S. style.
On 29 September 2008 the channel dropped "Europe" from its on-screen name, returning to the CNBC brand it had previously used for a spell in the 1990s. This positioned the station in-line with its U.S. and Asian counterparts, which are also referred to simply as CNBC. Some minor on-screen changes were introduced to coincide with the rebrand.
On 1 December 2008 the channel relaunched its flagship programme Squawk Box Europe, with a new look not derived from CNBC U.S. at all. At the same time a third line was added to the ticker detailing general news stories.
On 15 December 2008 the channel announced that long running show Power Lunch Europe would be removed from the schedule and be replaced, in both Ireland and the United Kingdom only, with a 12-week run of Strictly Money, a new programme focussing specifically on UK issues. This marked the creation of a new UK/Ireland opt-out for CNBC Europe. The new schedule aired from 12 January 2009, with Strictly Money remaining in the schedule until its cancellation in March 2011.
CNBC Europe debuted a new lower thirds, which were completely different from its sister U.S. and Asian channels, on 27 July 2009.
2010s
On 22 January 2010, the station ended its encryption on digital satellite television in the UK to increase its viewer footprint to an estimated 11 million households. The channel was subsequently added to Freesat on 23 February 2010.A significantly revamped studio was unveiled in May 2011 along with a new format for various programmes.
The network was formally merged with CNBC Asia in December 2011 to form a new Singapore-based company, CNBC International, to manage the two stations. As a result of the merger CNBC Asia managing director Satpal Brainch was appointed to lead the new company, with his European counterpart Mick Buckley leaving his post.
On 31 March 2014, CNBC Europe launched in widescreen and changed its lower thirds to match the on-air style of its sister CNBC Asia channel, which also launched in widescreen on the same day. The new look also saw the removal of the on-screen clock, which CNBC Europe had shown during live European and American programming since the channel was launched. This new on-air style did not carry over to CNBC US, which continued to use the old on-air style. CNBC US would ultimately follow with its own launch in 16:9 widescreen on 13 October 2014. An on-screen clock returned on this day but it was a world clock with the time from various financial capitals shown on a rotating basis. CNBC Europe's on-air style was launched 9 March 2015, exactly a month after its sister Asia channel.
On 10 November 2015, CNBC announced cutbacks to its international television operation, including the closure of its Paris and Tokyo bureaus, and a two-hour reduction in local programming from London. The cuts, which will result in the layoff of 15 employees, comes as part of a wider focus on providing European market coverage via digital platforms, such as the CNBC website. The programming cutbacks from London took effect on 4 January 2016. Only two programmes, Squawk Box Europe and the European version of Street Signs, are produced out of CNBC Europe's Fleet Place studios in London.
On 1 February 2019, CNBC Europe launched free-to-air in HD on Astra 28.2°E.
and 19 June 2021, change frequency free-to-air in HD on Astra 28.2°E to 12,168 GHz.
2020s
On 12 November 2020, CNBC Europe launched free-to-air in HD on Hot Bird 13°E.On 9 September 2024, CNBC Europe updated its on-air presentation and branding to match the CNBC US branding that was first introduced on 11 December 2023. This was also CNBC Europe's first new graphics launch in exactly nine and a half years.
On 28 April 2025, CNBC Europe debuted a new weekday programme, Europe Early Edition, which is anchored by Silvia Amaro and airs from 7h to 8h CET. It replaced the outgoing Street Signs, which ended its 9-year run on 25 April 2025. Also, Squawk Box Europe moved to a new time, airing from 8h to 11h CET, with Julianna Tatelbaum joining incumbent anchors Steve Sedgwick and Karen Tso. New studio sets were unveiled as part of the new programme line-up.
Ratings
Unlike its American sister station, CNBC Europe does not have its ratings measured on a daily basis: the channel resigned its membership of the UK's Broadcasters' Audience Research Board in September 2004 in protest at its refusal to incorporate out-of-home viewing into its audience figures. The network instead focuses its viewership measure strictly towards the top 20% income bracket, where figures are compiled as part of Synovate's European Media and Marketing Survey. CNBC Europe's monthly viewership grew steadily from 1.7 million to 6.7 million in the decade after its 1998 merger with European Business News, with annual growth coming in at around 10%. In the EMS survey covering 2010, the network's monthly reach was reported to be 6.8 million.Programming
European Business Day
Current programming
CNBC Europe produces four hours of live business day programming, from 7h to 11h CET. The major business day programmes, all broadcast from London, on CNBC Europe are:- Europe Early Edition – Silvia Amaro
- Squawk Box Europe – Steve Sedgwick, Julianna Tatelbaum and Karen Tso
- Decision Time
In addition, CNBC Europe produces other business-related programmes. Until April 2025 these programmes were premiered at 23h CET and repeated at various times over the weekend but now are shown exclusively at the weekend and on American bank holidays. Currently, these are:
- The Edge
- Marketing Media Money
- The CNBC Conversation
Extended programming
On the day each month when the bank lending rates are announced, CNBC Europe broadcasts Decision Time, which airs between 1300 CET and 1500 CET.The channel provides extra programming during the annual January gathering in Davos of the World Economic Forum, frequently opting out of American programming to provide extra coverage, such as interviews and other events. And CNBC Europe broadcasts a nightly 60-minute early evening programme from the event which, in 2025, aired at 17.00 CET.
The channel also occasionally opts out of American programming for one-off interviews or for coverage of a specific event.
Until around 2017, CNBC Europe had broadcast extended programming on American bank holidays. In the mid 2000s, this took the form of an extended edition of Power Lunch Europe and during 2009 and 2010 CNBC had broadcast Strictly Money to the whole of Europe. In 2012 and 2013 the network broadcast a three-hour edition of Worldwide Exchange and a two-hour edition of European Closing Bell. In 2014 and 2015, CNBC Europe did not broadcast any extended programming on U.S. bank holidays, although on many of the 2016 American bank holidays, CNBC Europe broadcast two-hour editions of Street Signs. CNBC Europe no longer broadcasts any extended programming on American bank holidays.