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| Country | Singapore |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Asia (includingSingapore and exceptMainland China (residential) andNorth Korea) Worldwide |
| Headquarters | Mapletree Business City Singapore[1] |
| Programming | |
| Language | English |
| Picture format | 1080i16:9HDTV |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | NBCUniversal Versant (2025, upcoming) |
| Sister channels | Universal TV New Zealand Bravo New Zealand Universal TV Australia Golf Channel DreamWorks Channel CNBC World |
| History | |
| Launched | 20 June 1995; 30 years ago (1995-06-20) |
| Replaced | Asia Business News |
| Links | |
| Website | Official website |
CNBC Asia is aSingapore-basedbusiness news channel owned by theNBCUniversal Media Group, a subsidiary ofComcast. It is a pan-Asian branch of the U.S.-basedCNBC.
The channel launched on 20 June 1995 out ofHong Kong. In 1998, the channel merged withDow Jones'Asia Business News and relocated to its facilities inSingapore. The network maintains bureaus across theAsia–Pacific region.
CNBC Asia was announced in 1995 as a localised version ofCNBC for theAsia-Pacific region. The network was expected to feature 10 hours of programming per day from its studio inHong Kong, along with bureaus inBombay,Singapore, andTokyo. The rest of its programming would be sourced fromCNBC Europe and its U.S. counterpart.NBC Asia chairman Patrick Cox expected that the network would reach five million homes by the end of its first year on-air.[2] In January 1995, a"preview" known asANBC launched, which carried a mix of programming fromCNBC US and CNBC Europe onGalaxy in Australia andWharf Cable in Hong Kong.[2] CNBC Asia officially launched on 20 June 1995.[3][4]
The network would be a competitor to the Singapore-basedAsia Business News (ABN), a joint venture betweenDow Jones & Company,Tele-Communications Inc.,TVNZ, and other local investors which launched in 1993. There were doubts that the two competing business news channels in the market would be viable; ABN CEO Paul France derided CNBC Asia as being "an Asian branch of an American company."[2][5] However, as early as November 1995, it was reported that NBC and Dow Jones were considering a merger of their business news channels in Asia and Europe, including ABN and its European counterpart,European Business News (EBN).[6]
In March 1997, CNBC Asia expanded its carriage on cable in India via an agreement with theHinduja Group.[7]
Renewed negotiations between NBC and Dow Jones surfaced in November 1997 amid financial difficulties at the companies' Asian and European operations. Dow Jones had been operating at a loss of US$48 million, and CNBC at $40 million.[8][3]
On 10 December 1997, Dow Jones and NBC announced a 15-year strategic partnership, under which ABN and EBN would merge with CNBC Asia and CNBC Europe, respectively, and CNBC US would be able to enter into editorial partnerships with Dow Jones publications such asThe Wall Street Journal andBarron's.[9][10] The merged operation would retain the CNBC branding, but be overseen by Paul France,[11] and relocate to ABN's Singapore studios—resulting in layoffs of 150 employees from its Hong Kong bureau.[8][5]
The merger took effect on-air on 2 February 1998, with the channel being rebranded asCNBC–Asia Business News for a transitional period.[12][13] Citing cost issues and a plan to focus exclusively on Asian business news, simulcasts of CNBC US programmes were dropped from its overnight schedule in favour of reruns of domestic programmes. After the decision was poorly received by viewers, CNBC's U.S. business day programmes were reinstated in March.[12]
The merger impacted ABN's Indian network, ABNi, which was a joint venture with Hinduja Group andTV18; prior to the announcement of the Dow Jones agreement, Hinduja had sold its stake in the channel, and TV18's agreement on the venture did not contain any provisions on what would occur in the event of a change in ownership. After discussions with a CNBC lawyer and France, TV18 would reach an agreement with CNBC to serve as its Indian partner, and would also launch CNBC India (nowCNBC TV18) the following year.[11][14]
In October 1999, CNBC Asia had a partnership with theAustralian Financial Review to presentThe Australian Financial Review Market Wrap, a daily round-up of market news from the Australian region hosted by James Walker and Grace Phan. Major programming changes occurred on 30 October 2000 with CNBC Asia expandingAsia Squawk Box to two hours,Asia Market Watch to two hours in the morning and 1½ hours in the afternoon andPower Lunch Asia to one full hour. CNBC Asia's ticker was also reformatted on that day to include colours reflecting a change in the stock prices (green for an increase and red for a decrease) and a stock's ticker symbol.
In 2001, CNBC Asia introduced localised tickers to audiences in Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore and has since kept the ticker on the screen during commercial breaks.
In July 2001,Asia Squawk Box was further extended to three hours and more programming hours fromCNBC US andCNBC Europe were added to the line-up. This was further extended in 2002 when U.S. programming started at 20.00UTC+8 time uninterrupted on weeknights.
In July 2005, Dow Jones exited its joint ventures with CNBC, putting them entirely under the ownership ofNBC Universal.[15] In March 2007, CNBC Asia announced that it would expand its presence in Australia, including establishing a newSydney bureau (initially based out of a localGE office, with a studio under construction at theBurns Philp Building across from Sydney Exchange Square), and premiering a new hour-long program precedingAsia Squawk Box—Squawk Australia—to cover the opening of the Australian markets.[16][17] The following month, CNBC launchedWorldwide Exchange, a new international business program that would be simulcast across CNBC in Asia, Europe, and the United States.[18]
CNBC Asia also launched two brand new shows that replacedMarket Watch and the CNBC Europe programmeToday's Business;CNBC's Cash Flow, anchored byMaura Fogarty (first hour) and Amanda Drury (second hour), was originally intensely trader and investor based. Following the success ofWorldwide Exchange, another joint production,Capital Connection, was launched. It was originally anchored by Maura Fogarty in Singapore and Steve Sedgwick inLondon. UnlikeWorldwide Exchange, which was originally produced byCNBC Europe (until production of that show was relocated to CNBC US on 4 January 2016),Capital Connection was produced by CNBC Asia.
On 27 September 2007, CNBC Asia announced two additional shows from Sydney,Trading Matters—a wrap-up of the day's market action, andAustralia This Week. Both shows were anchored by then-newly appointed CNBC anchor Oriel Morrison, formerly of theNine Network andBloomberg Television. The shows debuted on 2 and 6 October 2007, respectively, as the channel officially opened its new Burns Philip Building studios.[17] The move also saw CNBC Australia reintroduce opt-outs from the pan-Asian feed for additional airings ofTrading Matters andAustralia This Week.
In August 2008,The Daily Telegraph reported that Channel Nine's finance reporter Karen Tso, would be joining the network in October 2008. She became the Sydney-based correspondent of CNBC and anchoredSquawk Australia, thus replacing Jeffrey James.[19] In mid-2009, CNBC Asia launched a new personal finance show as an opt-out in Australia,The Barefoot Investor, with Australian personal finance expert Scott Pape.[20]
In June 2010, CNBC Asia relocated to a new studio at theSingapore Exchange. This coincided with changes to the network's lineup, including the cancellation ofSquawk Australia and re-expansion ofAsia Squawk Box to a three-hour format, and the new programThe Call.[21] On 31 March 2014, CNBC replacedThe Call andCash Flow with the early morning showThe Rundown and a local version ofStreet Signs. AsiaSquawk Box also relocated to a new studio in Hong Kong.[22] In 2019,Asia Squawk Box returned to Singapore with a new anchor lineup.[23]
In June 2023, CNBC Asia set up a new office in Mapletree Business City. Facilities include a master control room, a production control room for social media platforms and a small studio.[24]
On 22 July 2024, CNBC Asia updated its on-air presentation and branding to match the new CNBC US branding that was first introduced on 11 December 2023.
On 7 April 2025, CNBC Asia revamped its programming schedule, introducing new showsUS Markets Edition (airing prior toSquawk Box Asia to provide a recap of the previous American trading day), and new regional programmesThe China Connection,Inside India, andAccess Middle East.[25]
CNBC Asia produces live business day programming from 06:00 to 13:00SIN (UTC+08:00) time during DST or 06:00 to 14:00SIN without DST. The channel's weekday business day programmes (pan-Asian feed) are:[25][26]
In addition, CNBC Asia produces a weekly interview show -Managing Asia, presented byChristine Tan.
At other times of the weekday, daytime programmes fromCNBC Europe andCNBC US are simulcast on the channel.
CNBC Asia broadcasts lifestyle and sporting programmes, branded under CNBC Weekends, showings of CNBC US documentaries and weekly business shows such asManaging Asia,The Brave Ones, Marketing.Media.Money,The CNBC Conversation,American Greed,Tech Transformers,Channel Japan, Meet China,CNBC Tech: The Edge, andMeet the Press. Back-to-back editions ofThe Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon are shown during the evening.
On trading days over the Christmas and new year period, CNBC Asia massively cuts back its regional programming with live output restricted to a two-hour edition ofSquawk Box Asia. Pre-taped specials air at all other times. Simulcasts of programmes originating from CNBC US and CNBC Europe remains unaffected. Regular programming resumes immediately after theNew Year's Day holiday.
Among the shows that have been cancelled are:
In the US, all of CNBC Asia's daytime programmes are seen onCNBC World.
In Europe, during the mid to late 2000s, CNBC Europe had chosen to scale back simulcasts of CNBC Asia programming overnight in favour of teleshopping and later poker games, and CNBC Asia's entire morning line-up had only been seen on Monday mornings. During the rest of the week, only the second hour ofStreet Signs andCapital Connection were seen onCNBC Europe. However, in 2009, CNBC Europe began showing almost the entire CNBC Asia schedule throughout the week, joining CNBC Asia at midnight UK time, 1am CET, with the full schedule broadcast on Monday mornings. The April 2025 schedule changes saw CNBC Europe broadcast the entire CNBC Asia programming block every day for the first time.
Since 23 April 2007, a free live and commercial-free stream of CNBC Asia has been available on CNBC.com every Monday, from 6 AM to 4 PM SIN time (Sundays 6 PM to 4 AM ET withDST).[27] At other times, the stream can be accessed by subscribing to CNBC Plus, which costs $9.95/month or $99.95/year.
Furthermore,Worldwide Exchange is not shown on Fridays due to clashing with weekend shows (Inside China,The Edge) andManaging Asia.
Staff are based in Singapore unless stated otherwise.[28]
In conjunction with local partners it provides the following local channels:
Managing Asia can be seen onSingapore Airlines andJet Airways.[30]
