Reuters axes financial TV

Reuters Television is to shut down next spring because it was not cost effective, the company says.

The channel, which was distributed directly to traders, was watched only by a "modest" number of finance professionals, Reuters spokeswoman Nancy Bobrowitz said.

About half the channel's 90 employees will be laid off.

The fate of the remaining half has yet to be decided, Ms Bobrowitz said.

Exclusive interviews

Reuters Financial Television takes pride in getting exclusive interviews with company executives, policy makers and central bank governors.

The service describes itself as "a high-tier television service, specifically tailored for the professional financial markets".

But delivering the channel directly via satellite to so few people in the financial markets proved to expensive, Ms Bobrowitz said.

Reuters news television

Reuters Video News (RVN), the broadcast news service, will not be affected by the financial television shut-down.

The news service has more than 330 broadcast networks as customers.

More than 90 countries are served by RVN.