CNBC Asia-Pacific is a "hidden gem", according to Adrian New, who joined the specialist business channel three months ago as senior vice-president of adsales and marketing. "A lot of channels are suffering post-Sars, waiting for revenue to pick up, and CNBC is no different," New comments.
"Absence of marketing has meant we were not drawing in as big an audience as we could."
New is hoping a spot of publicity will change all that for CNBC, with audiences made aware of what it has to offer - via the channel's first set of TVCs in six years - and media agencies reminded of CNBC's advertiser appeal with the aid of a trade campaign.
New argues that, unlike other news channels, viewers tend to stick with CNBC once they turn it on, which should make it more attractive to advertisers, especially for those sponsoring programmes with more to gain from sustained viewing. New ran a sponsorship agency in Singapore before joining CNBC, and hopes his experience will bolster the broadcaster's revenues as non-traditional advertising elements feature on more and more briefs.
Post-Sars, CNBC is gearing up to outshine the competition. New's appointment is one of a number of prominent hires, both behind and in front of the camera, including TV veteran Gregg Creevey, named SVP of distribution and channel strategy, and three senior anchors.
Through the week, CNBC offers dedicated business news but blends this with general entertainment such as movies, sport and comedy at the weekend - the days where New feels the channel can make its greatest gains.
However, some feel that CNBC's marketing needs to be underpinned by programming changes. "They are attempting to do a bit of what most other channels are providing, diluting their core strength in an attempt to increase base appeal," says Niharr Das, MediaCompete's director of strategic communications.
"Their current weekend mix does not gear up viewers for the coming week, which it should."
Das thinks CNBC should focus on getting to know its audience. "Media agency understanding will follow automatically if they better understood viewer needs."
There are no plans to alter CNBC's positioning as a business channel, though New protests that pigeonholing the channel with other business broadcasters such as Bloomberg fails to recognise its potential. "The real competition is not one other channel," he says. "It is everything else you could be doing right now."