CNBC launches alarm app with anchor voices

Do you need to know how the market is doing the second you wake up? Well, there is an app for that.

CNBC Thursday launched the CNBC Alarm Clock that enables users to select the voice of their favorite CNBC anchor to deliver the latest market data. There are more than 25 alarm sounds to chooser from, ranging from the rooster's cow to the opening bell to the roar of a bull or a bear. 

"If you need Jim Cramer screaming 'BUY, BUY, BUY' to get you out of bed, that's available too," according to the app's description on iTunes.

The app's reviews on iTunes have been largely positive. Some fans lamented that the voice the late anchor Mark Haines, who was a fixture on the network, wasn't available.

Give CNBC, which is owned by Comcast (CMCSA), credit for creative marketing, though there is a method behind the channel's madness.

As TV Newser recently noted, CNBC is struggling to attract viewers. Last year, the network suffered its lowest rated year since 2005, with some shows showing declines of as much as 30%. Rival Fox Business Network, meanwhile, showed growth of 2% in total viewers and 17% in the target demographic of adults aged 25 to 54. Bloomberg TV, another rival, is not publicly rated.

CNBC's audience, however, is much larger than Fox Business Network's, with a total day average of 171,000 versus 63,000.

In order to maintain its competitive edge, the channel might have to develop an app to tuck in viewers as well.

--Jonathan Berr does not own shares of the listed stocks. Follow him on Twitter @jdberr

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