A little over a year after buying “Nightly Business Report” (NBR) from WPBT-TV Miami, NBR Worldwide Inc. announced that the public television program has been sold to Atalaya Capital Management. Terms were not disclosed.
“Today’s announcement regarding the sale of Nightly Business Report marks a day of great satisfaction for me, my partners, and the entire NBR staff. We celebrate the realization of many of our short and long term goals over the last 14 months, and now turn the page to an even brighter future. As the next chapter begins, we are all excited about the opportunities that will be afforded to the new owners and their team, and expect NBR’s success on public television to continue,” said Mykalai Kontilai, Chairman and CEO of NBR Worldwide.
“When we purchased NBR, we pledged to expand the program through new growth initiatives, while at the same time preserving the tradition of balanced reporting and analysis that has made it the highest rated business television program for the last 30-plus years, and we feel great about sticking with our pledge. I look forward to working with the new management and ownership during the transition, all of whom share the vision with the resources necessary to build on this great momentum,” he added.
Nightly Business Report, which is co-anchored by Susie Gharib and Tom Hudson, reaches 500,000 viewers every evening and has been on the air for over 30 years. Hudson also serves as managing editor. The program will continue to be produced from Miami and New York, and will work in concert with WPBT-TV in Miami, which will remain the presenting station of NBR.
The program was originally purchased by NBR Worldwide, Inc. in August 2010, which marked the first time that a premier nightly news broadcast produced specifically for public television had been acquired entirely by a private entity. Since the acquisition, NBR says Nightly Business Report has expanded considerably:
-Broadcast by more than 350 public television stations.
-Opened four new bureaus across the U.S., including Houston, Phoenix, Denver and Silicon Valley.
-Debuted a new, virtual on-air presentation from its Miami studio in December 2010, providing for a fresh visual look to the program.
-Expanded its reach through a broadcast partnership with SiriusXM radio in May 2011 to air the show nationally five nights per week.
-Negotiated a new prime studio space at the NYSE in June 2011, which provides the telecast with not only a superlative backdrop, but a studio to conduct live interviews as well.
Under the new ownership, NBR Worldwide will be led by Rick Ray, a television veteran. He and his wife Dee founded Raycom Sports, the largest producer of sports programming in the US – now part of Raycom Media.
“I am very excited to be associated with such a wonderful news operation. Nightly Business Report represents a unique opportunity with a 30 year history of bringing the public business news they can trust. In these difficult times investors and consumers alike need the advice and information NBR provides. Mykalai’s leadership in implementing these new growth initiatives is impressive. I look forward to working with the enormously talented and experienced staff to expand the brand and provide greater service to our public television station and their viewers,” said Ray.
