NEW YORK -- News Corp.'s new Fox Business Network will launch on Oct. 15, Fox said on Wednesday, in a bid to rival business cable channels CNBC and Bloomberg Television.

Fox Business has secured distribution agreements with leading U.S. cable operators that will make the channel available to 30 million subscribers, a company statement said.

The network will have its headquarters in New York and has established news bureaus in Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington and London.

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. had previously said it would launch the business channel in the fourth quarter, but did not provide a date.

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Murdoch is in the midst of talks on a $5 billion offer for The Wall Street Journal publisher Dow Jones & Co.. A deal would provide the new Fox Business Network with reporting from one of the most well-regarded business newspapers.

Some analysts have questioned whether the market for business news can support a third channel.

But Murdoch has been known to surprise critics by taking on tough competition, building the original Fox television network into a major rival to the top three U.S. broadcasters and making its Fox News cable channel a serious challenger to Time Warner Inc.'s CNN.

CNBC is owned by NBC Universal, which itself is 80 percent owned by General Electric Co. and 20 percent by France's Vivendi.

News Corp. shares rose 19 cents to $21.46 on the New York Stock Exchange.

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