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Sex Sells? CNBC Buys Ads On Gay Hookup App Grindr

Kaitlan Collins Contributor
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After its ratings fell to an all-time low in 2014, CNBC is now looking to pick up a new demographic: those perusing the all-men dating app Grindr, which is self-described as being “geared towards gay, bisexual and curious men.”

But are they curious enough to try out CNBC?

The poor ratings for the business channel since 1994 has led CNBC to run a banner ad on the dating app that reads, “All-new CNBC app for iPhone & iPad,” right next to pictures of shirtless men.

“Perhaps CNBC is hoping Grindr users will cruise the business news between hookups,” an insider told Page Six.

CNBC buys ads on gay hookup Grinder

(Photo: Screen capture courtesy of Page Six)

Grindr launched in 2009, and boasts to be the “world’s biggest mobile network of guys” with 6 million users. It shows those looking to hook up where the closest guys with mutual aspirations are located.

CNBC buys ads on gay hookup app Grindr

(Photo: Grindr website screen capture)

And it’s obvious CNBC is struggling.

A quick Google search of the network’s ratings pulls up a string of negative headlines: “For CNBC, 2014 Was The Worst. Year. Ever,” and “CNBC Is Dead.”

If it’s looking for a new target audience, it likely stems from CNBC’s ad revenue falling a whopping 4.6 percent in the third quarter of 2014. Its daily viewers were down 30,000 from its 204,000 in 2013, and the network’s daytime ratings have also taken a plunge during the past decade.

Maybe this tactic will work, but it doesn’t seem likely that guys looking for a quick hookup are also trying to read up on the nation’s structural growth rate.

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Kaitlan Collins