Summary
1. Financial information terminals in the downturn 2. Financial TV business is first cutting target in financial distributors 3. Risk of losing Financial TV of quality
Analysis
The first job reduction ever by financial provider Bloomberg expectedly is on its TV operations.
Financial information providers core business is data and analytics, while TV operations were a luxury addition affordable during past bull market periods. In particular, Financial TV was a nice to have that is very costly to maintain, particularly covering different markets in different languages. Bloomberg has decided to close any Financial TV operations except those in English, hence the 100 job.
The number of Bloomberg terminals has surely reduced dramatically as a consequence of the deep financial crisis in which we find ourselves and Financial TV (as it happened to Reuters Financial TV) is where the company first look for cuts.
Should it also look to make it more attractive?
The company should be careful in this respect. Financial TV is very much respected and liked by those looking for serious financial information. It may look dull but finance is not fashion, sport of food, it may necessarily be full of statistics and analysis, not entertaining.
Whatever Bloomberg decides to do with its Financial TV, it should continue its trajectory of factual information.
But we should not forget that the measure hides a significant reduction of Bloomberg core business, e.g. terminals
