1979 – Nightly Business Report begins airing on public television stations across the country.
The first cable business news show was Nightly Business Report, which began airing in 1979 on public television stations around the country. Produced at WPBT in Miami, Nightly Business Report covered business news as the networks covered politics, government agencies, sports and other beats.
Its broadcast typically started with the main business news developments of the day and then followed up later with features and interviews. Another segment recapped the market activity of the day in stocks, bonds and commodities. Two years after it started, NBR was on 125 stations, and by 1999 it was carried on more than 272 stations in the United States and others across the world.
The show was the idea of business executives on WPBT’s board, which approached news director Linda O’Bryon about starting a business news show. Said O’Bryon: “Business news on television was not a subject that was thought of. It was not visual. It was not the type of subject that attracted a large audience – but we felt it was important.” They saw the success of Rukeyser’s show and decided to expand the content to general business news. Initially, the program was 15 minutes long, but it later expanded to 30 minutes. What also set it apart was the lack of advertising.