CNBC has been available on Sky, Virgin and TalkTalk since January and the addition of Freesat means the channel will now be distributed to 12 million UK households. The company said it has no plans at present to launch on Freeview.
Mick Buckley, president and chief executive EMEA of CNBC, said the decision to become a free-to-air channel in the UK, is part of CNBC's strategy to "aggressively grow" its distribution across EMEA in 2010.
CNBC broadcasts seven hours of live programming every business day from its studio in the City of London including the hour long Strictly Money targeted at UK retail investors, small business owners and people looking to build and protect their investments.
Buckley said business and financial news remains "very pertinent" in today's economy and last year CNBC "significantly grew its upscale and affluent audience, as more viewers wanted to keep abreast of the dramatic changes in the economic environment".
Chris Haywood, head of trading at ZenithOptimedia, said becoming free to air will add "incremental revenue in terms of increasing CNBC's ad potential" and could extend the number of brands suitable for the channel.
Haywood said: "It probably makes a lot of sense because it will give CNBC access to a wider audience. Outside the world of business, normal UK viewers don't see the existence of the station. I can see why it makes sense in the long term."
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