ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, NJ & MIAMI, FL, February 21, 2013– CNBC, First in Business Worldwide, announced today its intention to purchase the rights to Nightly Business Report (NBR), a leading evening business news program, from national investment firm Atalaya Capital Management. CNBC will begin producing the series exclusively for public television from its Global Headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, NJ on Monday, March 4.

“We are proud to take the reins of television’s longest running business program,” said Mark Hoffman, Chief Executive Officer and President, CNBC. “Our goal is to utilize our global editorial resources to both preserve and strengthen Nightly Business Report, exposing its highly educated audience across 180 broadcast markets to CNBC’s already diverse multi-media offerings which include cable programming, a full suite of digital products, radio and our international networks and local language affiliates.”

“This move comes at a critical time for Nightly Business Report,” explained Rick Schneider, President and CEO, WPBT2, the creator and presenting station of NBR since 1979. “This change keeps Nightly Business Report on public television and gives the program something that it has never had – the backing and editorial resources of a worldwide newsgathering organization.”

“The access to the expansive, award-winning resources of CNBC will amplify Nightly Business Report’s ability to report the business news viewers need from a global perspective. We see great value to our U.S. public television viewers – business executives, financial professionals and the general audience – all of whom are interested in gaining trusted information to help manage their business or personal finances,” said Cynthia Fenneman, American Public Television (APT) President and CEO. “We look forward to working with CNBC and WPBT2 to continue distribution of this leading business news program to public television stations across the country.”

Beginning in March, Nightly Business Report will be anchored by CNBC’s Tyler Mathisen and Susie Gharib, the program’s current co-anchor. The network intends to maintain the familiar look, feel and format of the program while greatly increasing the depth of reporting and analysis. CNBC will also continue to produce NBR’s popular Nightly News Brief, a short synopsis of the day’s business news events, for public television stations and will support the program’s website, NBR.com. WPBT2 will remain the presenting station for Nightly Business Report.

Nightly Business Report is broadcast to 96% of U.S. television households* and is also seen on public television’s WORLD multicast channel. Launched in January 1979 by WPBT2 (Miami’s public television station), NBR aired locally until APT, the longest operating distributor of public television programming in the U.S., picked up the series for national distribution in 1981.

The exact terms of the deal were not disclosed.