Murdoch sees FBN in over 40 mln homes

By Anupreeta Das

NEW YORK (Reuters) - News Corp Chairman Rupert Murdoch told Reuters on Wednesday he sees the recently launched Fox Business Network reaching more than 40 million U.S. homes by next year.

The rival to cable business news market leader CNBC, owned by General Electric, launched last week in a little over 30 million homes.

"I think it's running without a glitch," Murdoch said at the Fox Business launch party here.

Murdoch said he expected Fox Business to be available in about 35 million homes by the end of the year.

Fox Business Network's success depends on improving its distribution, said Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes.

Ailes said the company is currently in negotiations with other cable operators.

"The key now is distribution," he said. "Once we've got distribution, I think it's pretty clear to people that we've got a good product and we'll be bought."

Fox Business is considered one of the biggest launches in U.S. cable television, analysts have said.