Report on Business Television (sometimes abbreviated ROBTv) is a Canadian cable television specialty channel, which airs business news and analysis. The downtown Toronto-based station is owned by Bell Globemedia, and is named for Report on Business, the daily business section of The Globe and Mail newspaper, although its day-to-day operations are run by CTV News.
The network was licensed in 1996 to a joint venture of Thomson (the Globe's owner), WIC and Cancom, and began broadcasting in September 1999. Mostly produced in-house, it also carries content from Bloomberg Television. It was the Canadian broadcast partner of CNNfn, an American business news channel, which closed in December 2004.
Following threats of a legal battle between CanWest Global (which, in 2000, acquired WIC's and Cancom's interests in the service, as well as main Globe rival National Post) and Bell Globemedia (the company that resulted from BCE's acquisition of CTV and the Globe), Globemedia assumed full control on November 2, 2000.
Business news segments air on CTV, including Canada AM and local CTV O&O newscasts, and on CTV Newsnet, are co-branded with Report on Business Television.
The service features a televised stock ticker with real-time data from the TSX, NYSE, NASDAQ as well as many international exchanges. Based in Toronto, ROBTv also has news bureaus located in New York City, Calgary and London.
CNN business reporter Ali Velshi was a reporter and anchor for Report on Business Television from 1999 to 2001.
As of a recent ratings period, the station has a measured audience of approximately 5,000 regular viewers daily. It also has a strong viewership outside of the home (in gyms, restauraunts, offices etc.) which is not reflected in these ratings. This is a situation also faced by networks with high out-of-home viewing patterns such as CNBC.
Current Line-Up
All times ET:
6:00am: Live feed of Bloomberg Television's Morning Call
8:00am: AM Business with Bridgitte Anderson
10:00am: Business Morning with Jim O'Connell
11:30am: Talking Tax with Kim Parlee (Tuesdays & Thursdays)
12:00pm: Lunch Money with Michael Hainsworth
12:30pm: Market Call with Jim O'Connell
1:30pm: Trading Desk with Pat Bolland
4:00pm: The Wrap with Bruce Sellery (formerly The Close)
4:30pm: O'Leary Live with Kevin O'Leary (Mondays only)
5:00pm: Squeeze Play with Kevin O'Leary & Amanda Lang
6:00pm: Stars & Dogs with Kim Parlee & Andy Bell
6:30pm:
Workopolis TV - a spin-off of the popular job site, Workopolis.com (Monday-Wednesday)
Strictly Legal (Thursdays only)
Financial Fridays (Fridays only)
7:00pm: The Business News with Howard Green
8:00pm: Market Call Tonight with Howard Green
8:30pm: MoneyTalk with Patricia Lovett-Reid (Thursdays only)
On-Air Personalities and Contributors
Bridgitte Anderson
Paul Bagnell
Andrew Bell
Pat Bolland
Danielle Bochove
Mark Bunting
Martin (Marty) Cej
Michael Cochrane
Jon Erlichman
Howard Green
Michael Hainsworth
Brett Harris
Andy Hoffman
Michael Kane
Pat Kiernan
Amanda Lang
Tony Martin
Jacquie McNish
Linda Nazareth
Jim O'Connell
Kevin O'Leary
Kim Parlee
Susan Prince
Eric Reguly
Bruce Sellery
Lou Schizas
Linda Sims
Andy Willis
Paul Waldie
Key Contacts
Catherine McCutcheon, Advertising Sales
Jack Fleischmann, General Manager
Alison Milward, Special Events and Marketing
Shawn Fleming, Broadcast Operations
Gord Steinhoff, Technology
Susan Corey Ehrhardt, Traffic
Mailing Address
Report on Business Television
720 King Street West, 10th Floor
Toronto, Ontario
M5V 2T3