Bloomberg Television

Bloomberg Television is a global 24-hour financial news channel owned by Bloomberg L.P., the financial data and media empire founded by Michael Bloomberg. Unlike many news networks that branched into business, Bloomberg was a data company first, a fact that is deeply embedded in its on-air DNA. The channel is famous for its non-stop stream of real-time market data, charts, and analytics that share screen space with anchors and guests. It provides rolling coverage of market movements, interviews with CEOs and policymakers, and analysis of economic trends. For many professionals, it’s the definitive visual and auditory backdrop to the trading floor. For individual investors, it represents a firehose of financial information—a powerful tool if used correctly, but a potential source of distraction and anxiety if not. Its purpose is to report on the what, when, and why of the business world, second by second.

Watching Bloomberg Television is a unique, data-saturated experience. The screen is a mosaic of information: the main video feed of an interview or report is surrounded by scrolling stock tickers, commodity prices, currency exchange rates, and breaking news headlines. This design is a direct reflection of its famous Bloomberg Terminal, the high-priced computer system that is a fixture on the desks of serious financial professionals. The channel’s content focuses heavily on quantitative data and expert commentary, featuring a constant parade of economists, fund managers, and corporate leaders. The goal is to give viewers a direct line to the heart of the financial world, delivering raw data and high-level insights that drive market behavior. It feels professional, urgent, and incredibly dense with information.

For a disciple of value investing, Bloomberg TV is a tool with a dual nature—it can be both a helpful research assistant and a dangerous siren song. The legendary investor Benjamin Graham warned against paying too much attention to the market's daily moods, a concept he personified as the manic-depressive Mr. Market. Bloomberg TV is, in many ways, the voice of Mr. Market, broadcasting his every fleeting emotion for all to see. The channel’s friend side offers undeniable benefits. It’s an excellent source for staying informed about industry trends, learning about a new company, or hearing a CEO explain their capital allocation strategy directly. However, its foe side can be destructive to a value investor’s long-term, business-focused mindset.

The core conflict between value investing and financial television stems from their opposing views on time and temperament.

• Short-Term Mania: Financial news thrives on immediacy. “Breaking news” about a quarterly earnings miss or a market dip creates drama and attracts viewers. This hyper-focus on the next 24 hours is the polar opposite of the value investor’s multi-year (or even multi-decade) time horizon. It encourages you to react to noise, not analyze the signal.
• Emotional Contagion: The flashing red arrows, urgent music, and dramatic headlines are engineered to provoke emotional responses: fear of loss and greed for quick gains. Warren Buffett famously advises investors to be “fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful.” Financial TV often encourages the exact opposite, promoting herd behavior.
• The Illusion of Insight: The endless parade of experts offering stock price predictions can make you feel that someone, somewhere, knows what the market will do next. In reality, no one can consistently predict short-term stock movements. True investing isn't about forecasting prices; it's about calculating a business's intrinsic value and buying it at a significant discount—a process that happens on a spreadsheet, not a TV screen.

So, should you unplug your television? Not necessarily. Like any powerful tool, the key is to use it correctly.

1. Be an Information Gatherer, Not a Follower: Watch Bloomberg to get the facts. If a CEO is being interviewed, listen to what they say about their business operations, competitive landscape, and long-term goals. Absorb that information, but completely ignore the host’s subsequent question: “So, is the stock a buy right now?”
2. Filter for Signal, Ignore the Noise: Use the channel to identify potential research topics. Did a company in an industry you follow make a major acquisition? Great—that’s your cue to go read the press release and the company’s 10-K and 10-Q filings, not to listen to 10 pundits guess its impact on tomorrow's stock price.
3. Watch with the “Mute Button” Mindset: Train yourself to mentally tune out the speculative chatter and price predictions. Focus on the raw information being presented. The real work of an investor begins after the screen is turned off.

In short, treat Bloomberg Television like a newspaper headline: a starting point for your own investigation, not the final word.