Turner Will Offer Financial Network

The stage was set Friday for a business news war on cable television as Turner Broadcasting System Inc.’s board approved plans to launch a financial news network to compete with CNBC.

Speculation that Atlanta-based TBS would create the network already had prompted CNBC President Roger Ailes to say his network would consider striking back with a 24-hour all-news service to do battle with Turner’s Cable News Network.

Bring it on, said Turner.

“I’d say we have met and surpassed very strong competition from the day we came on the air in 1980,” CNN spokesman Steve Haworth said Friday.

The CNN Financial Network is scheduled to begin programming in January.