Bloomberg enjoys a close relationship with stock-market aficionados and financial stakeholders, particularly during the hours when stocks trade. Now the business-news giant is working to cultivate those ties at times when trading isn’t paramount.
“Bloomberg This Weekend,” a three-hour broadcast that airs from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday, will debut February 28. The show, hosted by David Gura, Christina Ruffini, and Lisa Mateo, will simulcast worldwide across Bloomberg’s audio, video and digital platforms, and offer real-time reporting, as well as stories on politics, lifestyle and culture to its audience. Carolyn Cremen, a veteran of CBS News and CNN, will serve as executive producer.
“This is an opportunity to keep people interested in the Bloomberg TV and audio universe seven days a week,” says Anthony Mancini, head of global audio at the company, during a recent interview. “If we do that, that’s a victory.”
Because the three hours of programming will be available across all of Bloomberg’s media platforms simultaneously, the show can travel with listeners as they move about their weekend activities, says Mancini. :”When you get up and have your coffee, you can watch it in your living room. And as you make your way out the door, you can catch it on the radio, or depending on where you are, on mobile apps.”
Bloomberg has for some time used weekends to show a mix of paid programming and repeats of some of its original series, including series such as “Wall Street Week,” “Bloomberg Next Africa,” and “Leaders with Lacqua.” Some more recent episodes of series such as “Mishal Husain Show” and Peer to Peer with David Rubenstein” have also turned up on the weekend schedule.
But big breaking news stories surfacing on the weekends offered proof to Bloomberg executives that the company’s audience was active during off hours, says Mancini. When Bloomberg broke into weekend programming with live coverage of events taking place in Iran and Venezuela in the recent past, the executive says, audience levels “increased by two to three times from what were normal levels.”
The new weekend program will pull some of its story segments from Bloomberg properties, including some of the company’s various newsletters. But executives also hope to give viewers and listeners information that will help them in the business week ahead, Mancini says. While the program is meant to keep Bloomberg’s audience engaged over the weekend, he says, it can also serve to assemble crowds for Monday morning.
Gura has been with Bloomberg TV and Radio since 2024, his second stint with the company after loggign time at NPR and MSNBC. Ruffini joins Bloomberg after serving as a contributing host for NBC, MSNBC and The Atlantic Live. She previously served as a White House and State Department correspondent for CBS News. Mateo will serve as a news anchor, and joins the team from Bloomberg Surveillance Radio, Prior to joining Bloomberg, Mateo was a news anchor for the CBS News Radio Network and a television correspondent for CBS Newspath. She will continue hosting global conferences for Bloomberg Live.