New owner of PBS show ‘Nightly Business Report’ has vision of expansion

Reporting from Miami â€”  Entrepreneur Mykalai Kontilai’s August purchase of the long-running public TV show “Nightly Business Reportâ€� came as a surprise. The San Diego-based Kontilai’s background as a celebrity martial artists’ manager and distributor of instructional television shows made him an unlikely buyer.

And in the nine months since he bought the show from WPBT-PBS2 in Miami, Kontilai has revealed few details regarding plans for the 30-year-old weeknight business wrap-up show.

But in a recent interview at the show’s North Miami studio, Kontilai — who owns the show with partner Gary L. Ferrell under the corporate name of NBR Worldwide — spoke more about expanding the show’s brand and audience.

Some shifts, Kontilai indicated, could come in the next two months.

Among the plans: a “major social networking initiative� designed to draw a younger audience, and a Spanish-language version of “Nightly Business Report� being discussed with what he described as “a Spanish-language domestic network.� No deal is set yet.

Other initiatives — still in development — include a for-profit website and a financial education series.

Also in the works, Kontilai said, is a product on a new “multimedia platform� — though he wouldn’t say whether that was the same radio program concept idea he’s previously discussed.

He declined to give further details until deals are finalized.

The show, which has 46 employees, has moved to expand its coverage area by stationing correspondents across the country through partnerships with PBS stations. NBR Worldwide recently signed an agreement to use a reporter and resources from Rocky Mountain Public Television in Denver. More partnerships will be announced in the coming weeks, Kontilai said.

The show is also expanding coverage beyond traditional New York financial circles, Kontilai said, with more special topic reports like the business of sports, women in leadership, healthcare, small business and personal finance for children and teens.

“In order to grow the audience, we not only need to explore and expand our coverage in different areas of business other than just Wall Street, but to reach out to our viewers and have them connect with us off the show,� he said.

On average, the audience of “Nightly Business Report� is 45 to 65 years old. The show airs on more than 250 PBS stations nationwide and in 17 countries, and says it has the same audience as a year ago, with about 500,000 viewers each night.

Media watchers agree that expansion is needed if “Nightly Business Report� is to compete with 24/7 cable business networks like CNBC, Fox Business and Bloomberg Television and online business news.

“I always thought it’s been the most underrated business show imaginable,� said Allan Dodds Frank, a network television business investigative correspondent for two decades, who said the show’s in-depth analysis was unique in an era where people just want the headlines.

“Maybe if it has to make a profit, it’ll be more aggressive,� Frank said.

To do so, Kontilai and his partner will need to search beyond corporate sponsorships — uncertain in an uneven economy — and government funding, which has dwindled across public broadcast media.

And going online gives “Nightly Business Report� a more level playing field to grow audience against cable networks, said Julio Rumbaut, a broadcast media consultant in Miami.

As for a possible Spanish-language business wrap-up show, opportunity exists, Rumbaut said — though perhaps not in the same format.

“It will be a big challenge for them,� the consultant said.

“All I can say is I’m focusing on the future, and ultimately I believe I will be judged moving forward based upon the successes of NBR,� Kontilai said.

Tom Hudson, a co-anchor of “Nightly Business Report,� writes a column for McClatchy-Tribune News Service.

Carey writes for the Miami Herald/McClatchy.