TV News Coverage and the Informativeness of Retail Trading

This paper examines how real-time TV news shapes retail trading and its informativeness. Using over a decade of timestamped transcripts from CNBC, Fox Business Network, and Bloomberg TV matched with minute-level trading data, I find that retail trading volume rises by 88% within 15 minutes of a stock's mention, and retail order flow shifts in the direction of the news tone. Before coverage, retail order imbalances negatively predict returns; the initial TV mention increases their informativeness by 62%. The effect is strongest when retail informational disadvantage is likely greatest and when information is not formalized or widely disseminated. These results show that TV news accelerates the diffusion of information to retail investors and enhances the information efficiency of their trading, narrowing asymmetries between retail and institutional investors.