BNN

BNN may refer to:

Business News Network

Business News Network (BNN) is a Canadian English language Category A cable and satellite specialty channel that is owned by Bell Media. BNN broadcasts programming related to business and financial news and analysis. The channel is headquartered at 299 Queen Street West in Downtown Toronto; day-to-day operations for BNN are run by CTV News.

History

As Report on Business Television (RoBTV)

The network was licensed by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) in 1996 to a joint venture of Thomson Corporation (50%), Western International Communications (25%) and Cancom (25%). It launched on September 1, 1999 as Report on Business Television (although using the abbreviation ROBTv), borrowing the name from The Globe and Mail's financial section "Report on Business".

In 2000, Canwest acquired WIC and its interest in ROBTv. As part of the agreement transferring WIC's interests in Cancom to Shaw Communications, CanWest acquired Cancom's share of the channel as well.

BNN (Dutch broadcaster)

BNN or Bart's Neverending Network (formerly Barts News Network, as a pun on CNN) is a Dutch public broadcasting association supported by the Netherlands Public Broadcasting. BNN was founded in 1997 by Bart de Graaff, Gerard Timmer & Frank Timmer, and targets teenage and young adult audiences. It produces entertainment and informative television programs, radio programs, and feature films. Some of BNN's programming has dealt with controversial subject matter, including most famously, a hoax reality special made to help raise awareness of the shortage of organ donors in the Netherlands.

History

BNN had its origins in a program broadcast on Veronica presented by Bart de Graaff, in this case known as Bart's News Network.

BNN became a public broadcasting association as a part of the Netherlands Public Broadcasting system on 15 August 1997, replacing former member Veronica, with BNN first standing for the Brutaal News Network (Flagrant News Network). The name was later changed to Bart's Neverending Network after Bart de Graaff's death at age 35 from kidney failure caused by a rejection of a kidney transplant he received in 1999. While Dutch media in general is known to be liberal in coverage of sexuality and drugs, even BNN's programming has been considered controversial.