Fade in to a row of toilet stalls in a men's room. While disembodied voices talk about the day's business events, the camera pans across a row of feet with trousers and underwear scrunched down around them. Says the announcer: "There's a better place where executives can go for fast-breaking business news."
Its programming may not be as irreverent (some might say tasteless) as its promotional ads, but the Consumer News & Business Channel, a cable service that will be launched next week by NBC, is causing plenty of stir. The channel will compete directly with cable's chief business-news outlet, the...