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The Weather Channel (TWC) is an American
pay television Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to Subscription business model, subscription-based television services, usually provided by multichan ...
channel Channel, channels, channeling, etc., may refer to: Geography * Channel (geography), in physical geography, a landform consisting of the outline (banks) of the path of a narrow body of water. Australia * Channel Country, region of outback Austral ...
owned by Weather Group, LLC, a subsidiary of
Allen Media Group Entertainment Studios, Inc., also known as Allen Media Group, is an American media and entertainment company based in Los Angeles. Owned and founded in 1993 by businessman Byron Allen, the company was initially involved in the production and d ...
. The channel's headquarters are in
Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
. Launched on May 2, 1982, the channel broadcasts
weather forecast Weather forecasting is the application of science and technology to predict the conditions of the atmosphere for a given location and time. People have attempted to predict the weather informally for millennia and formally since the 19th centu ...
s and weather-related news and analysis, along with documentaries and entertainment programming related to weather. A sister network,
Weatherscan Weatherscan was an American digital cable and satellite television network owned by Allen Media Group. A spinoff of The Weather Channel, Weatherscan featured uninterrupted local weather information in graphical format on a continuous loop that ...
, was a
digital cable Digital cable is the distribution of cable television using digital data and video compression. The technology was first developed by General Instrument. By 2000, most cable companies offered digital features, eventually replacing their previou ...
and
satellite A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioisotope ...
service that offered 24-hour automated local forecasts and
radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...
imagery. Weatherscan was officially shut down on December 9, 2022. The Weather Channel also produces outsourced weathercasts, notably for
CBS News CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio service CBS. CBS News television programs include the ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs '' CBS News Sunday Morning'', '' 60 Minutes'', and '' 48 H ...
and
RFD-TV RFD-TV is an American pay television channel owned by Rural Media Group, Inc. The channel features programming devoted to rural issues, concerns and interests. The channel's name is a reference to Rural Free Delivery, the name for the United Sta ...
. The Weather Channel was a subsidiary of
the Weather Company The Weather Company is a weather forecasting and information technology company that owns and operates weather.com and Weather Underground. The Weather Company has been a subsidiary of the Watson & Cloud Platform business unit of IBM since 2016. ...
until the latter was bought by IBM in 2016. The Weather Channel licenses its weather data from IBM.


History

The Weather Channel was founded on July 18, 1980,USPTO filings: First Use (not First Use in Commerce date on various filings, including filing w/ serial number 73369821) by television meteorologist John Coleman (who had served as a chief meteorologist at
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
owned-and-operated station In the broadcasting industry, an owned-and-operated station (frequently abbreviated as an O&O) usually refers to a television or radio station owned by the network with which it is associated. This distinguishes such a station from an affiliate ...
WLS-TV WLS-TV (channel 7) is a television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, airing programming from the ABC network. Owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division, the station maintains studios on North State S ...
in
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
and as a forecaster for ''
Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. Th ...
'') and
Frank Batten Frank Batten (February 11, 1927 – September 10, 2009) was a co-founder of the first nationwide, 24-hour cable weather channel, The Weather Channel. His media company, Landmark Media Enterprises, once owned nine daily newspapers, more th ...
, then-president of the channel's original owner Landmark Communications (now Landmark Media Enterprises). The channel launched at 8:00 p.m.
Eastern Time The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico, Panama, Colombia, mainland Ecuador, Peru, and a small port ...
on May 2, 1982. Originally, regional and local information was obtained from the
National Weather Service The National Weather Service (NWS) is an Government agency, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weathe ...
for broadcast. Since 2002, all forecasting has been done on-site in Atlanta.


Sale to NBCUniversal, Bain, and Blackstone

On January 3, 2008,
Landmark Communications Landmark Media Enterprises, LLC (a spinoff of Landmark Communications, Inc.) is a privately held media company headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia specializing in newspaper publishing, Internet publishing and software. History Norfolk Newspape ...
put the Weather Channel and its assets up for sale. On July 6, 2008,
NBC Universal The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are ...
,
Bain Capital Bain Capital is an American private investment firm based in Boston. It specializes in private equity, venture capital, credit, public equity, impact investing, life sciences, and real estate. Bain Capital invests across a range of industry se ...
and
Blackstone Group Blackstone Inc. is an American alternative investment management company based in New York City. Blackstone's private equity business has been one of the largest investors in leveraged buyouts in the last three decades, while its real estate b ...
agreed to jointly purchase the Weather Channel from Landmark, making it the channel's first ownership change in 26 years. The sale was finalized on September 12, 2008. NBC Universal also owned
NBC Weather Plus NBC Weather Plus was an American weather-oriented digital broadcast and cable television network owned as a joint venture between NBC Universal and the local affiliates of the NBC television network. The service, which was broadcast in standard d ...
, a rival service which was carried by and featured content from the
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
television network's local
network affiliate In the broadcasting industry (particularly in North America, and even more in the United States), a network affiliate or affiliated station is a local broadcaster, owned by a company other than the owner of the network, which carries some or a ...
s; that service announced its discontinuation three months later. Over-the-air
digital subchannel In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a method of transmitting more than one independent program stream simultaneously from the same digital radio or television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compress ...
s carrying Weather Plus have since switched to the similarly formatted
The Local AccuWeather Channel AccuWeather Inc. is an American media company that provides commercial weather forecasting services worldwide. AccuWeather was founded in 1962 by Joel N. Myers, then a Pennsylvania State University graduate student working on a master's degree ...
, kept the Weather Plus engine, or switched affiliations to other networks such as
This TV This TV (also known as This TV Network and alternately stylized as thisTV) is an American free-to-air television network owned by Allen Media Broadcast Networks, LLC, part of the Allen Media Group division of Entertainment Studios. Originally fo ...
or the
Retro Television Network Retro TV (stylized as retrotv), formerly known as Retro Television Network, is an American broadcast television network owned by Get After It Media. The network mainly airs classic television sitcoms and drama series from the 1950s through t ...
; some have shut down entirely. From November 2008 to February 2009, the Weather Channel laid off seven long-time on-camera meteorologists: Kristina Abernathy, Eboni Deon, Kristin Dodd, Rich Johnson, Cheryl Lemke,
Mark Mancuso Mark Mancuso (born in West Newton, Massachusetts) is an American meteorologist formerly employed by The Weather Channel in Atlanta, Georgia and now with AccuWeather in State College, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Pennsylvania State University wi ...
and Dave Schwartz (Schwartz would return to TWC in April 2014, but died of cancer on July 30, 2016). With the exception of Deon, all had been on the air for more than ten years, and three of them had been employed by the network for more than twenty years. In July 2010, the Weather Channel terminated Bill Keneely, the last of the original on-camera meteorologists who appeared on the network's first broadcasts in 1982. In December of that year, the network also laid off on-camera meteorologist Nicole Mitchell, who later would file a lawsuit against the Weather Channel in 2012, alleging that she had been terminated because the channel's new owners disapproved of the time required by her simultaneous duties as a Captain in the
U.S. Air Force Reserve The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of commiss ...
as one of the " Hurricane Hunters" team; such reserve duties are protected by U.S. law (Mitchell later served as the chief meteorologist at
Al Jazeera America Al Jazeera America was an American pay television news channel owned by the Al Jazeera Media Network. The channel was launched on August 20, 2013, to compete with CNN, HLN, MSNBC, Fox News, and in certain markets RT America. It was Al Jazeera' ...
, which for a time also employed Eboni Deon). Inevitably, the merger of NBC on-air meteorologists began in May 2009. Former NBC Weather Plus meteorologist Todd Santos joined the Weather Channel on May 2 of that year.
Al Roker Albert Lincoln Roker Jr. (born August 20, 1954) is an American weather presenter, journalist, television personality, and author. He is the current weather anchor on NBC's '' Today'', and occasionally co-hosts '' 3rd Hour Today''. He has an in ...
of NBC's ''
Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now'' * Current era, present * The current calendar date Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 ...
'' began hosting a one-hour morning program called '' Wake Up With Al'', alongside meteorologist Stephanie Abrams later in the summer. However, for New York City-based forecasting operations (those utilized for forecasts on
MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and political ...
and
CNBC CNBC (formerly Consumer News and Business Channel) is an American basic cable business news channel. It provides business news programming on weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Eastern Time, while broadcasting talk sho ...
, for instance), the former NBC Weather Plus forecasting, radar and graphics systems remain in place, with banners changed to fit the Weather Channel's graphics scheme. On September 10, 2009, the Weather Channel co-founder
Frank Batten Frank Batten (February 11, 1927 – September 10, 2009) was a co-founder of the first nationwide, 24-hour cable weather channel, The Weather Channel. His media company, Landmark Media Enterprises, once owned nine daily newspapers, more th ...
died.


2012 to 2018

In January 2012, David Kenny took over as
chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
of the Weather Channel, replacing former AOL executive Mike Kelly, who had been appointed as the company's CEO in the summer of 2009. Although all operations, sales support and marketing and the bulk of employees are located in the headquarters in Atlanta, Kenny declined to move there, and continues to live in
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
as a remote worker. Later in 2012, the Weather Channel's
holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...
changed its name from The Weather Channel Companies to
The Weather Company The Weather Company is a weather forecasting and information technology company that owns and operates weather.com and Weather Underground. The Weather Company has been a subsidiary of the Watson & Cloud Platform business unit of IBM since 2016. ...
. The company also purchased competing weather service and website
Weather Underground The Weather Underground was a Far-left politics, far-left militant organization first active in 1969, founded on the Ann Arbor, Michigan, Ann Arbor campus of the University of Michigan. Originally known as the Weathermen, the group was organiz ...
the same year. On March 10, 2015, Verizon FiOS dropped the Weather Channel and WeatherScan for their rival
AccuWeather AccuWeather Inc. is an American media company that provides commercial weather forecasting services worldwide. AccuWeather was founded in 1962 by Joel N. Myers, then a Pennsylvania State University graduate student working on a master's degree ...
. On September 9, 2015, the channel announced a phased overhaul of its programming schedule during 2016, in which the channel would gradually shift its focus back towards a forecast-based lineup. The channel cancelled ''Wake Up with Al'', citing high production costs in New York City compared to Atlanta. It announced that ''AMHQ'' would be refocused on weather, eliminating lifestyle segments, with
Stephanie Abrams Stephanie Abrams (born October 27, 1978) is an American television meteorologist who has worked for The Weather Channel (TWC) since 2003. She currently co-hosts '' AMHQ'' with Jen Carfagno and Jim Cantore early weekday mornings. She is also empl ...
becoming host and original host Sam Champion as a contributor for its prime time schedule starting November 2. The network also announced it would no longer greenlight original long-form programming, and expanded live forecast programming on its schedule throughout 2016 after all remaining long-form programs already in development concluded their runs. In a memo sent out to network staff by Weather Company CEO David Kenny, it explained its refocus on weather-based programs was done so that "our most passionate fans come to us for the weather and the science behind the weather, not our original shows." Around 50 TWC employees – including production, engineering, and financial staff – were laid off, and the television channel's budget was reduced to shift resources to the company's Internet and mobile properties. The channel's original format was similar to that of a news and information cable network. Since the creation of the series '' Atmospheres'' in 2000 and ''
Storm Stories ''Storm Stories'' is an American non-fiction television series that airs on The Weather Channel (TWC) and Zone Reality. It is hosted and narrated by meteorologist and storm tracker Jim Cantore. ''Storm Stories'' showcases various types of severe ...
'' in 2003, the Weather Channel had seen a gradual transition toward a mix of weather forecasting and weather-related entertainment programming that paralleled the launch of sister network
Weatherscan Weatherscan was an American digital cable and satellite television network owned by Allen Media Group. A spinoff of The Weather Channel, Weatherscan featured uninterrupted local weather information in graphical format on a continuous loop that ...
, the evolution of the always-on "L" bar/weather ticker, the development of weather.com and popular branded mobile phone applications, and the increased viewing and interest in documentary programs on the topic of weather. In November 2013, the channel introduced a new initiative of "weather all the time" in response to the criticism. All original programming – which was rebranded under the tagline ''Natural Drama'' – now had direct relevance to weather-related subjects, and the network emphasized its promise to interrupt original programming either regionally or nationally during major weather events. In addition, the Weather Channel extended the display of its lower display line (which was revamped with a new graphics package) to commercial breaks and through entire broadcasts of its original programs. In August 2015, reports surfaced that the Weather Company's owners were considering a sale of all or part of the venture, having hired
Morgan Stanley Morgan Stanley is an American multinational investment management and financial services company headquartered at 1585 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. With offices in more than 41 countries and more than 75,000 employees, the fir ...
and PJT Partners to explore their options. On October 28, 2015, it was announced that IBM would acquire most of the Weather Company's assets, including weather.com, Weather Underground, the related mobile applications, and their underlying data platforms, for an undisclosed amount. IBM planned to leverage its Watson technology as part of the acquisition, foreseeing its use for weather analytics and predictions. The deal, which closed the following January, does not include the Weather Channel itself, which remained owned by the Bain/Blackstone/NBCUniversal consortium, and entered into a long-term licensing agreement with IBM for use of its weather data and "The Weather Channel" name and branding.


Sale to Entertainment Studios

In August 2016, reports surfaced that
Sinclair Broadcast Group Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. (SBG) is a publicly traded American telecommunications conglomerate that is controlled by the descendants of company founder Julian Sinclair Smith. Headquartered in the Baltimore suburb of Cockeysville, Maryland, ...
had expressed interest in acquiring ownership of the Weather Channel. On March 22, 2018,
Byron Allen Byron Allen Folks (born April 22, 1961) is the founder of the U.S. entertainment company Entertainment Studios which includes The Weather Channel. He is also a television producer, philanthropist, and comedian in his younger years. Notable s ...
's
Entertainment Studios Entertainment Studios, Inc., also known as Allen Media Group, is an American media and entertainment company based in Los Angeles. Owned and founded in 1993 by businessman Byron Allen, the company was initially involved in the production and d ...
announced its acquisition of the Weather Channel's television assets from the NBCUniversal/Bain/Blackstone partnership. The actual value is undisclosed, but was reported to be around $300 million. The channel's non-television assets, which were separately sold to IBM two years prior, were not included in the sale. In the early morning of April 18, 2019, the Weather Channel was temporarily unable to air live programming due to what they called a "malicious software attack" on their network. Previously taped shows were aired while engineers worked with backup equipment, and live programming returned to normal within a few hours (at the time, ''AMHQ''). As of May 2019, the investigation into the
malware Malware (a portmanteau for ''malicious software'') is any software intentionally designed to cause disruption to a computer, server, client, or computer network, leak private information, gain unauthorized access to information or systems, depri ...
attack was still active. In May 2022, on The Weather Channel's 40th birthday, it launched a new direct-to-consumer subscription-based app.


International versions

Over the years, attempts to broadcast international versions of TWC – apart from the Australian version of the Weather Channel (now
Sky News Weather Channel Sky News Weather Channel is an Australian satellite television channel owned by Australian News Channel, a subsidiary of News Corp Australia. Launched on 1 January 1999, the channel broadcasts weather forecasts and weather-related news and anal ...
) – have failed. TWC operates websites that provide localized forecasts in
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
,
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
,
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
,
Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
and the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
, but some of these sites may not have developed since 2003. The Weather Channel shares radar imagery and forecasts with
the Weather Network The Weather Network (TWN) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English language, English-language weather information specialty channel available in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. It delivers weather information on television, ...
in Canada, particularly for the Weather Channel's Canadian forecasts. * A U.K. version of the Weather Channel operated from September 1, 1996, to January 30, 1998, when it was shut down due to low viewership. On satellite, it broadcast for five hours each day, from 6am until 11am. It shared channel space with
Sky Movies Gold Sky Cinema is a British subscription film service owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). In the United Kingdom, Sky Cinema channels currently broadcast on the Sky satellite and Virgin Media cable platforms, and in addition Sky Cinema o ...
/ Sky Box Office 2,
The Racing Channel The Racing Channel was a British subscription television channel which used to extensively cover horse racing. It ran between 1995 and its closure in January 2003. The Racing Channel was produced and transmitted by Satellite Information Servic ...
and Galavision. On cable, it was generally on air for 24 hours but it was only carried by some companies as others chose to carry rival service
The Weather Network The Weather Network (TWN) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English language, English-language weather information specialty channel available in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. It delivers weather information on television, ...
which also launched in the UK in 1996. Both were designed for cable as it had local weather information for specific regions. * TWC formerly operated
the Weather Channel Latin America The Weather Channel Latin America (Spanish: El Canal del Tiempo, Portuguese: Canal do Tempo) is a website which formerly served as a cable and satellite channel based on the American cable and satellite television network, The Weather Channel. Th ...
, a
Spanish-language Spanish ( or , Castilian) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from colloquial Latin spoken on the Iberian peninsula. Today, it is a world language, global language with more than 500 millio ...
network serving
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
,
Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...
and
South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...
. This network launched in 1996 and an accompanying
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
ian
Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...
-language feed launched in 1998. It ceased operations on December 20, 2002, due to budget cuts. The channel's three original on-camera weather presenters were Paola Elorza, Sal Morales, and Mari Carmen Ramos; all three left the channel within a year of its launch and respectively went on to work for
Univision Univision () is an American Spanish-language free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. It is the United States' largest provider of Spanish-language content. The network's programming is aimed at the Latino public and includes ...
in Miami,
Telemundo Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language Terrestrial television, terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Television and Streaming#NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a divi ...
in Los Angeles, and
CNN International CNN International (CNNI, simply branded on-air as CNN) is an international television channel that is owned by CNN Global. CNN International carries news-related programming worldwide; it cooperates with sister network CNN's national and inter ...
in Atlanta.


Ratings and reception

, the Weather Channel was received by approximately 79.128 million households that subscribe to a pay television service throughout the United States. Americans regard the Weather Channel as the most trustworthy media organization, according to a 2022 poll by ''
The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econo ...
'' and
YouGov YouGov is a British international Internet-based market research and data analytics firm, headquartered in the UK, with operations in Europe, North America, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific. In 2007, it acquired US company Polimetrix, and sinc ...
.


Local on the 8s


Related services


Television


Radio and newspaper presence

The Weather Channel provides forecasts for
satellite radio Satellite radio is defined by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)'s ITU Radio Regulations (RR) as a ''broadcasting-satellite service''. The satellite's signals are broadcast nationwide, across a much wider geographical area than ter ...
provider
Sirius XM Radio Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. It was formed by the 2008 merger of Sirius Sat ...
in the United States. Both services run regional forecasts on a single station, and operate several individual stations providing combined local weather and traffic information for major metropolitan areas. The Weather Channel also simulcast on
SiriusXM Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. It was formed by the 2008 merger of Sirius S ...
from 2016 onward during the following storms:


2016

*
Hurricane Matthew Hurricane Matthew was an extremely powerful Atlantic hurricane which caused catastrophic damage and a humanitarian crisis in Haiti, as well as widespread devastation in the southeastern United States. The deadliest Atlantic hurricane since ...


2017

*
March 2017 North American blizzard The March 2017 North American blizzard was a major late-season blizzard that affected the Northeastern United States, New England and Canada, dumping up to of snow in the hardest hit areas, mainly New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Southern Q ...
*
Hurricane Harvey Hurricane Harvey was a devastating Category 4 hurricane that made landfall on Texas and Louisiana in August 2017, causing catastrophic flooding and more than 100 deaths. It is tied with 2005's Hurricane Katrina as the costliest t ...
*
Hurricane Irma Hurricane Irma was an extremely powerful Cape Verde hurricane that caused widespread destruction across its path in September 2017. Irma was the first Category 5 hurricane to strike the Leeward Islands on record, followed by Maria two ...


2018

*
Hurricane Florence Hurricane Florence was a powerful and long-lived Cape Verde hurricane that caused catastrophic damage in the Carolinas in September 2018, primarily as a result of freshwater flooding due to torrential rain. The sixth named storm, third h ...
*
Hurricane Michael Hurricane Michael was a very powerful and destructive tropical cyclone that became the first Category 5 hurricane to make landfall in the contiguous United States since Andrew in 1992. It was the third-most intense Atlantic hurricane to ma ...


2019

*
Hurricane Dorian Hurricane Dorian was an extremely powerful and catastrophic Category 5 Atlantic hurricane, which became the most intense tropical cyclone on record to strike the Bahamas, and tied for strongest landfall in the Atlantic basin. It is also rega ...


2020

*
Hurricane Isaias Hurricane Isaias () was a destructive Category 1 hurricane that caused extensive damage across the Caribbean and the East Coast of the United States while also spawning a large tropical tornado outbreak that generated the strongest tropical c ...
*
Hurricane Laura Hurricane Laura was a deadly and destructive Category 4 hurricane that is tied with the 1856 Last Island hurricane and 2021's Hurricane Ida as the strongest hurricane on record to make landfall in the U.S. state of Louisiana, as measu ...
*
Hurricane Sally Hurricane Sally was a destructive and slow-moving Atlantic hurricane, which was the first hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. state of Alabama since Ivan in 2004, coincidentally on the same date in the same place. The eighteenth named storm, ...
*
Hurricane Delta Hurricane Delta was the record-tying fourth named storm of 2020 to make landfall in Louisiana, as well as the record-breaking tenth named storm to strike the United States in that year. The twenty-sixth tropical cyclone, twenty-fifth named ...
*
Hurricane Zeta Hurricane Zeta was a late-season major hurricane in 2020 that made landfall on the Yucatán Peninsula and then in southeastern Louisiana, the latest on record to do so at such strength in the United States. Zeta was the record-tying sixth hurr ...


2021

*
Hurricane Ida Hurricane Ida was a deadly and extremely destructive Category 4 Atlantic hurricane in 2021 that became the second-most damaging and intense hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. state of Louisiana on record, behind Hurricane Katrina in 200 ...
TWC also maintains content partnerships with a number of local U.S. radio stations to provide local forecasts, using announcers separate from the meteorologists seen on the television channel. For some affiliates, the Weather Channel provides a limited amount of live coverage during local
severe weather Severe weather is any dangerous meteorological phenomenon with the potential to cause damage, serious social disruption, or loss of human life. Types of severe weather phenomena vary, depending on the latitude, altitude, topography, and atmos ...
events (with the Georgia-based announcers connected via
ISDN Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) is a set of communication standards for simultaneous digital transmission of voice, video, data, and other network services over the digitalised circuits of the public switched telephone network. Wo ...
). Distribution of TWC radio content is currently handled by
Westwood One Westwood One is an American radio network There are two types of radio network currently in use around the world: the one-to-many (simplex communication) broadcast network commonly used for public information and mass-media entertainment, and ...
. Similarly, the Weather Channel also provides weather reports for a number of newspapers around the United States. This included a half-page national forecast for ''
USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
'', for which TWC provided content until September 2012, when rival
AccuWeather AccuWeather Inc. is an American media company that provides commercial weather forecasting services worldwide. AccuWeather was founded in 1962 by Joel N. Myers, then a Pennsylvania State University graduate student working on a master's degree ...
replaced the Weather Channel as the paper's forecast provider.


2022

On March 28, 2022, TWC announced a content partnership with
CBS News CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio service CBS. CBS News television programs include the ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs '' CBS News Sunday Morning'', '' 60 Minutes'', and '' 48 H ...
, under which it will provide weather reports on ''
CBS Mornings ''CBS Mornings'' is an American morning television program which is broadcast on CBS. The program debuted on September 7, 2021, and airs live every weekday from 7:00a.m. to 9:00a.m. It is hosted by Gayle King, Tony Dokoupil, and Nate Burleso ...
'', the ''
CBS Evening News The ''CBS Evening News'' is the flagship evening television news program of CBS News, the news division of the CBS television network in the United States. The ''CBS Evening News'' is a daily evening broadcast featuring news reports, feature s ...
'', and the
CBS News streaming network CBS News (formerly CBSN, also known as the CBS News Streaming Network) is an American streaming video news channel operated by the CBS News and Paramount Streaming divisions of Paramount Global. Launched on November 6, 2014, it features blocks ...
, as well as collaborate on investigative journalism relating to weather and climate. On May 2, 2022, The Weather Channel en Español launched on Local Now as TWC celebrates their 40th anniversary. TWC en Español has 24/7 coverage. Milmar Ramírez, Henry Golac, Jessica Fernández, Lorena Lim, Albert Martínez and Abel Hernández leads the team.


Online services

TWC provided numerous customized forecasts for online users through its website, weather.com, including home and garden, and event planning forecasts. Third-party
web analytics Web analytics is the measurement, data collection, collection, analysis, and reporting of web Data (computing), data to understand and optimize web usage. Web analytics is not just a process for measuring web traffic but can be used as a tool fo ...
providers
Alexa Alexa may refer to: Technology *Amazon Alexa, a virtual assistant developed by Amazon * Alexa Internet, a defunct website ranking and traffic analysis service * Arri Alexa, a digital motion picture camera People * Alexa (name), a given name a ...
and
SimilarWeb SimilarWeb Ltd. is an Israeli web analytics company specializing in web traffic and performance. Headquartered in Tel Aviv, the company has 12 offices worldwide. Similarweb went public on the New York Stock Exchange in May 2021. History The c ...
rated the site as the 146th and 244th most visited website in the world respectively, as of July 2015. SimilarWeb rates the site as the second most visited weather website globally, attracting more than 126 million visitors per month. It also provided
WAP WAP or Wap may refer to: Music * "WAP" (song), a 2020 song by Cardi B featuring Megan Thee Stallion Organizations * Weatherization Assistance Program, for US energy costs * Western Australia Party, a political party founded in 2016 * Western A ...
access for mobile phone users,
desktop widget A software widget is a relatively simple and easy-to-use software application or component made for one or more different software platforms. A desk accessory or applet is an example of a simple, stand-alone user interface, in contrast with a ...
s for quick reference by computer users, and customized weather feeds for individual websites. Cell phone customers could also receive local forecasts from TWC sent to their mobile handsets via
SMS Short Message/Messaging Service, commonly abbreviated as SMS, is a text messaging service component of most telephone, Internet and mobile device systems. It uses standardized communication protocols that let mobile devices exchange short text ...
by sending a
text message Text messaging, or texting, is the act of composing and sending electronic messages, typically consisting of alphabetic and numeric characters, between two or more users of mobile devices, desktops/ laptops, or another type of compatible comput ...
with their ZIP code to 42278 (which spells "4cast"). The Weather Channel also provided weather forecasts for other online services including
Yahoo! Yahoo! (, styled yahoo''!'' in its logo) is an American web services provider. It is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California and operated by the namesake company Yahoo Inc., which is 90% owned by investment funds managed by Apollo Global Man ...
. In addition, The Weather Channel maintained apps for the iPhone,
iPad The iPad is a brand of iOS and iPadOS-based tablet computers that are developed by Apple Inc. The iPad was conceived before the related iPhone but the iPhone was developed and released first. Speculation about the development, operating s ...
, Android,
Apple TV An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...
,
Kindle Fire The Amazon Fire, formerly called the Kindle Fire, is a line of tablet computers developed by Amazon. Built with Quanta Computer, the Kindle Fire was first released in November 2011, featuring a color 7-inch multi-touch display with IPS techn ...
, and
Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
mobile and tablet platforms. TWC formerly maintained two versions of its mobile applications: a free version that incorporates advertising and a pay version called "TWC Max" that does not feature advertising
the latter was discontinued in favor of an all ad-supported model on January 6, 2014
Aside from location-based weather forecast information, the apps provided radar maps, and tropical and seasonal updates, as well as
social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...
related functions that track weather-related
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
messages and allow users to send
Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
friends severe weather alerts. The channel also disseminated severe weather information, and photos and videos submitted by meteorologists and viewers, on its Twitter feed
@TWCBreaking
which also served as a hashtag usable for posts). In July 2012,
the Weather Company The Weather Company is a weather forecasting and information technology company that owns and operates weather.com and Weather Underground. The Weather Company has been a subsidiary of the Watson & Cloud Platform business unit of IBM since 2016. ...
(former owner of the Weather Channel) purchased competing weather website
Weather Underground The Weather Underground was a Far-left politics, far-left militant organization first active in 1969, founded on the Ann Arbor, Michigan, Ann Arbor campus of the University of Michigan. Originally known as the Weathermen, the group was organiz ...
. While the Weather Channel already had success with its own mobile apps, it planned to use Weather Underground's large network of digital forecasting and tracking websites to bolster its digital growth. Weather Underground operates separately from the Weather Channel and continues to provide its own forecasts, though its website incorporates some weather news and video content from TWC. The website
weather.com The Weather Company is a weather forecasting and information technology company that owns and operates weather.com and Weather Underground. The Weather Company has been a subsidiary of the Watson & Cloud Platform business unit of IBM since 2016. ...
and most of the Weather Channel's digital assets were sold to IBM in January 2016. The Weather Channel as a television operation now use
weloveweather.tv


Programming

Weather forecast programming made up TWC's entire schedule prior to its incorporation of weather-related original programming – referred in network promotional materials and press releases as "long-form programming" – in 2000 (with few breakaways from its forecast programs prior to then, outside of educational program ''
The Weather Classroom ''The Weather Classroom'' is an educational program for children that aired on The Weather Channel from 1993 to 2007. It was part of the Cable in the Classroom initiative, and aired at a time when the show could be recorded for later showings in ...
'', an original program produced as part of the cable television industry's
Cable in the Classroom Cable in the Classroom was an American division of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association that assisted the cable television industry in providing educational content to schools. The organization was founded in 1989. A Canadian organ ...
initiative). The number of hours devoted to TWC's in-studio forecast programs have steadily eroded since then. The network's live studio programs are aired regularly from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time on weekdays and from 6:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time on weekends and holidays. ''
America's Morning Headquarters ''America's Morning Headquarters'' (formerly ''Your Weather Today'', ''Morning Rush'' and ''AMHQ'') is an American morning television program on The Weather Channel. Airing every morning from 6  a.m. to 12 p.m. Eastern Time, the program ...
'' airs weekdays between 6:00 a.m. and noon Eastern Time, followed by ''Pattrn,'' which airs from noon to 1:00 p.m. Eastern, ''Weather Underground'', which airs from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern followed by the network's drivetime program, '' Storm Center'', which airs from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern. On weekends, ''America's Weekend Headquarters'' from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m., followed by ''Weekend Recharge'' from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The Weather Channel also broadcast original weather-related documentary/entertainment series and specials. These programs ran throughout the rest of the schedule. During severe weather events affecting portions of the United States, the Weather Channel may preempt original programming in favor of airing extended coverage under the umbrella title ''Weather Center Live'' (which changes the color of the word "LIVE" from blue to red) to provide long-form coverage and analysis until its aftermath; in some events, the on-air graphics (including Lower Display Line) can go black-and-red (similar to colors that WCL uses); pre-emptions vary between local (isolated to viewers in the region affected by a particular weather event) and nationwide, depending upon the impact of the weather phenomenon/story and if a local provider utilizes a later model WeatherStar unit that allows the use of dual feeds that can substitute programming with long-form weather coverage in a given area. TWC normally utilizes a different music theme for these events, dubbed "Storm Alert Mode", used for both WCL and LOT8's.


Movies

In a move that caused controversy with many longtime viewers, the Weather Channel began airing weather-related movies on Friday nights on October 30, 2009. The first feature to be broadcast by the channel was the 2000 film '' The Perfect Storm''. After December 2009, these weekly movies were discontinued for the time being in favor of running ''
Weather Center ''Weather Center'' (originally ''WeatherScope'') was a news and weather program produced by The Weather Channel in Atlanta, Georgia. Initially, ''Weather Center'' was the lone program for The Weather Channel. By 2000, the show had started being ...
'', which already aired throughout primetime during the rest of the work week. Despite the controversy, the Friday night film block resumed on March 26, 2010, under the title "Flick and a Forecast," co-hosted by the Weather Channel meteorologist Jen Carfagno and MSNBC contributor
Touré Touré is the French transcription of a West African surname (English transcriptions are '' Turay'' and '' Touray''). The name is probably derived from ''tùùré'', the word for 'elephant' in Soninké, the language of the Ghana Empire. The clan ...
, with the documentary '' Into Thin Air: Deaths on Everest''. During the broadcasts, the Lower Display Line that normally appears on TWC shows to provide local weather information (with breakaways during forecast and most long-form programs only for commercial breaks) was removed, appearing only a few times each hour during the film as a substitute for the standard "Local on the 8s" segments, with a translucent TWC logo bug appearing at other times during the film when the LDL was not on-screen. While the films shown within the "Flick and a Forecast" block were weather-related in some form, some films featured (such as '' Misery'' and '' Deep Blue Sea'') had only a minimal tie to weather. On May 31, 2010,
NewsBlues
' reported the Weather Channel's decision to cancel the movie block, due in part to viewer criticism of movies being shown on what is intended as a news and information channel, as well as a snafu that occurred during an April 2010 tornado outbreak that led to a scheduled movie being aired instead of wall-to-wall severe weather coverage. The "Flick and a Forecast" presentations were then replaced by an additional hour of ''Weather Center'' and a two-hour block of long-form original programs.


Notable current personalities


Reporters

*
Dave Malkoff Dave Malkoff (born March 1, 1976) is an American television journalist working for The Weather Channel. He has covered some of the most destructive hurricanes in US history. Dave has hosted more than a dozen documentaries that air on the networ ...
: Field / Feature reporter (2012–present) * Carl Parker: On-Camera Meteorologist, Climate reporter, Storm specialist special coverage (1999–present) *
Mike Seidel Michael Phillip Seidel (born January 18, 1956) is an American meteorologist who has worked at The Weather Channel (United States), The Weather Channel since March, 1992. He is noted for his field reporting from breaking weather including severe w ...
: On-Camera Meteorologist, Field Meteorologist (1992–present)


Former personalities

* John Coleman: Founder of the Weather Channel; deceased * John Hope: Meteorologist/hurricane expert 1982-2002; deceased * Vivian Brown: 1986-2015 * Jeanetta Jones: 1986-2006; deceased * Crystal Egger: 2010-2013; last with KNBC in Los Angeles *
Al Roker Albert Lincoln Roker Jr. (born August 20, 1954) is an American weather presenter, journalist, television personality, and author. He is the current weather anchor on NBC's '' Today'', and occasionally co-hosts '' 3rd Hour Today''. He has an in ...
: 2009-2015; current co-host of ''
Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now'' * Current era, present * The current calendar date Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 ...
'' * Dave Schwartz: 1991-2008, 2014–2016; deceased *
Sam Champion Samuel James Champion (born August 13, 1961) is an American weather anchor who is best known for his combined 25-year career on the ABC flagship station WABC-TV and ''Good Morning America''. He formerly co-anchored '' AMHQ: America's Morning He ...
: 2014–2016; now at
WABC-TV WABC-TV (channel 7) is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the ABC network. Owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division, the station maintains studios in the Lincoln Square neighbor ...
in New York City * Bob Stokes: 1996-2008 *
Anaridis Rodriguez Anaridis Rodriguez-Starnino is an American journalist. She currently anchors and reports for the CBS owned-and-operated WBZ-TV in Boston. The journalist also worked for The Weather Channel. She is the former news anchor on America's Morning Head ...
: 2014–2017; now at
WBZ-TV WBZ-TV (channel 4) is a television station in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, airing programming from the CBS network. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside independent station WSBK-TV (ch ...
*
Maria LaRosa Maria LaRosa is an American meteorologist. Since July 2019, she has worked as a meteorologist on WNBC-TV New York and is a substitute weather presenter on NBC's ''Today''. Previously, she worked for The Weather Channel in Atlanta, Georgia. She ...
: ''Weekend Recharge'' (2010–2018) now at
WNBC WNBC (channel 4) is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the NBC network. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Linden, New Jersey–licensed Telemundo stati ...
in New York City * Greg Forbes: 1999– 2018 * Tom Niziol: 2012-2019, retired, former winter weather expert * Rich Johnson: 1983-2009, 2016-2018 *
Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Affleck (' Lopez; born July 24, 1969), also known as J.Lo, is an American singer, actress and dancer. In 1991, she began appearing as a Fly Girl dancer on the sketch comedy television series ''In Living Color'', where she rema ...
: 2004-2007, now with
WSB-TV WSB-TV (channel 2) is a television station in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, affiliated with ABC. It is the flagship television property of locally based Cox Media Group, which has owned the station since its inception, and is sister to ...
in Atlanta * Alexandria Steele: 2005-2008, later with CNN, now with
WANF WANF (channel 46) is a television station in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is the flagship property of locally based Gray Television and is co-owned with independent station WPCH-TV (channel 17) and low-power, Clas ...
in Atlanta


Branding


Logos

The Weather Channel's first and most recognized logo was a blue rectangular box with rounded edges that debuted with the Weather Channel's first broadcast on May 2, 1982. This logo was revised in 1996, with the corners becoming less rounded and the logo becoming slightly flat. The ''weather.com'' URL text was permanently added underneath the logo in 1999. On August 15, 2005, the logo was overhauled again; the logo became a straight-edged square with no white trim on the edge and "The Weather Channel" text became oriented in title-case and left-justified, similar to its Canadian sister channel
the Weather Network The Weather Network (TWN) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English language, English-language weather information specialty channel available in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. It delivers weather information on television, ...
. A 25th-anniversary logo used in 2007 featured a white square edged in blue connected to the current logo with the text "25 YEARS" inside it in blue. When NBCUniversal acquired the network in 2008, the network has participated in the "Green is Universal" campaign, which occurs twice a year, usually during April and November. The network's logo changes to a shade of green as part of the campaign promoting environmental conservation. Since 2014, the network has utilized a red-colored version of the logo during hurricane coverage; the red logo has also appeared during severe tornado outbreaks.


Slogans

* 1982–1983: We Take the Weather Seriously, But Not Ourselves * 1983–1984: The Cable Television Network for America's Lifestyle * 1984–1986: Weatherproofing America * 1986–1991: You Need Us, the Weather Channel, for Everything You Do * 1991–1996: Weather You Can Always Turn To * 1996–1998: No Place on Earth Has Better Weather * 1998–2001: Keeping You Ahead of the Storm * 2001–2005: Live By It * 2005–2008: Bringing Weather to Life * June 2–late 2008: The Weather Has Never Looked Better * 2009–early 2010: The Sounds of Weather. Hear It, See It, Live It * 2013–2020: It's Amazing Out There * 2015–2016: Where You Get Your Weather Matters * 2017–2018: Trust In Us To Be There * 2019-present: America's Most Trusted TV News Network (Current promotional campaign) * 2020–present: Get Into The Out There


Controversy


Cable and satellite carriage disputes


Dish Network carriage dispute

On May 20, 2010,
Dish Network DISH Network Corporation (DISH, an acronym for DIgital Sky Highway) is an American television provider and the owner of the direct-broadcast satellite provider Dish, commonly known as Dish Network, and the over-the-top IPTV service, Sling TV. A ...
announced that it was dropping the Weather Channel at 12:00 a.m. Eastern Time that day in favor of its own similar weather information channel,
the Weather Cast The Weather Cast was a short-lived television channel seen exclusively on Dish Network. The channel was devoted solely to weather forecasting, weather forecasts from across the United States, and was a direct competitor to The Weather Channel (o ...
. The
carriage dispute A carriage dispute is a disagreement over the right to "carry", that is, retransmit, a broadcaster's signal. Carriage disputes first occurred between broadcasters and cable companies and now include direct broadcast satellite and other multicha ...
was over the rates that the Weather Channel asked Dish Network to pay: from 11¢ per subscriber per month to 12¢,Dish Network is dropping The Weather Channel
. ''The Weather Channel'' news release (May 20, 2010). Retrieved May 22, 2010.
a 9% increase, totaling $140,000 per month. The dispute was also over the Weather Channel's programming format shifting from an information-based channel to an entertainment-based service. The Weather Channel said in a statement, "Dish has chosen to be the first distributor to drop the Weather Channel rather than pay the standard industry rates others in the industry have already agreed to pay", and encouraged Dish Network customers to switch to other pay television providers. Dave Shull, senior vice president for programming for Dish Network said the Weather Channel's fees were harder for the satellite provider to justify paying as more people receive weather information through the internet and mobile services: "They're looking for bid increases when I feel like there's a real migration to the Web, and it's difficult to really justify those rate increases at this time." On May 24, 2010, the Weather Channel announced that it had reached a new multi-year carriage agreement with Dish Network, the financial terms of which were not disclosed. Despite the earlier announcement that the Weather Channel would be dropped, the channel was never officially removed from Dish Network. The Weather Cast ceased operations in anticipation of the launch of a
Weatherscan Weatherscan was an American digital cable and satellite television network owned by Allen Media Group. A spinoff of The Weather Channel, Weatherscan featured uninterrupted local weather information in graphical format on a continuous loop that ...
-based service announced as part of the agreement that would provide local weather information for Dish Network customers. The proposed movie scheduled for the Friday after the deal was struck (May 28), ''
Gorillas in the Mist ''Gorillas in the Mist'' is a 1988 American drama film directed by Michael Apted and starring Sigourney Weaver as the naturalist Dian Fossey. It tells the story of her work in Rwanda with mountain gorillas and was nominated for five Academy Aw ...
'', was dropped in favor of a six-hour marathon of ''Tornado Road''.


DirecTV carriage dispute

DirecTV DirecTV (trademarked as DIRECTV) is an American multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital satellite service serving the United States. I ...
removed the Weather Channel from its lineup on January 14, 2014, after the two parties were unable to come to terms on a new carriage agreement;DirecTV customers lose The Weather Channel
''
USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
'' (via the
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
), January 14, 2014.
as a result, DirecTV became the first major pay television provider to drop the channel in its history. Two weeks before the channel's carriage agreement was set to expire on December 31 (after which the deadline for a new carriage deal was extended by two weeks), the satellite provider began carrying
WeatherNation TV WeatherNation TV (branded on-air as simply WeatherNation) is an American broadcast, digital streaming, cable, and satellite television network owned by WeatherNation, Inc, a subsidiary of Performance One Media and ultimately owned by Robert J ...
(the successor to the Weather Cast and owned by WeatherNation, LLC) on channel 361 on December 16, 2013 – placing the channel next to the Weather Channel's slot on channel 362; WeatherNation replaced the Weather Channel on channel 362 – while still being carried on channel 361 – when TWC was pulled. The Weather Channel's chief executive officer David Kenny stated that it offered DirecTV the best rate for its programming (according to SNL Kagan, the Weather Channel's average carriage fee at the time was 13¢ per subscriber), and blasted the satellite provider's removal of the channel by stating that it was putting profits ahead of public safety. Representatives for DirecTV stated that it added WeatherNation TV in response to subscriber complaints regarding the number of reality programs on the Weather Channel, which it estimated had amounted to 40% of its daily schedule (WeatherNation TV, which outside of its carriage by DirecTV is primarily carried on
broadcast television Broadcast television systems (or terrestrial television systems outside the US and Canada) are the encoding or formatting systems for the transmission and reception of terrestrial television signals. Analog television systems were standardized b ...
stations as a main channel affiliation or a digital multicast service, does not run programming outside of forecasts with the only interruption in its weather coverage coming from affiliates that carry children's programs to fulfill
FCC The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdictio ...
educational programming requirements; however, WeatherNation has been criticized for its very limited amount of live programming, which TWC does provide, especially during significant weather events). DirecTV stated that weather information is also available through broadcast television stations carried as part of its local channel tier, as well as the provider's designated emergency channels. The Weather Channel fought back by airing commercials encouraging people to not subscribe to DirecTV by parodying the provider's popular "Get Rid of Cable" ad campaign. On April 8, 2014, the Weather Channel and DirecTV both settled on a new agreement (TWC decided to alter its programming lineup by trimming the amount of reality programming on weekdays in half, restricting them to its nighttime schedule, in response to complaints from DirecTV subscribers), with the provider restoring the channel on channel 362 the following day. Access to local weather content using the red button feature did not return until May 2, 2014.


Verizon FiOS removal and return

Verizon FiOS dropped the Weather Channel and its sister network Weatherscan from its lineup on March 10, 2015, after the two parties were unable to come to terms on a new carriage agreement. The services have respectively been replaced by the
AccuWeather Network The AccuWeather Network is an American cable and satellite television network launched, operated and owned by AccuWeather. The network broadcasts live and pre-recorded national and regional weather forecasts, analysis of ongoing weather events, ...
(which launched on March 10) and a widget provided by FiOS featuring forecast content provided by
WeatherBug WeatherBug is a brand owned bGroundTruth based in New York City, that provides location-based advertising solutions to businesses. WeatherBug consists of a mobile app reporting live and forecast data on hyperlocal weather to consumer users. Hist ...
. No public announcement was made regarding the removal until over 12 hours after TWC and Weatherscan were pulled. The Weather Channel offered a less expensive deal to Verizon FiOS, which rejected the offer. Verizon cited the Weather Channel's frequent use of scare tactics, naming of winter storms and the wide availability of the internet and mobile apps for consumers to access weather content any time of day as the reason for dropping TWC and its services. It is unknown if Frontier FiOS customers in clusters formerly served by Verizon are affected, including (as of April 1, 2016) the recently acquired clusters from California, Texas, and Florida. A representative for the network said in a statement, "We were disappointed when, without warning late yesterday, March 9, Verizon FiOS dropped the Weather Channel from their lineup while our companies continued to be in active conversations regarding a contract renewal. FiOS customers have enjoyed a bundle of services from the Weather Channel including the network, Weatherscan, On-Demand, a Weather Widget and streaming on mobile devices. During a winter with record-breaking storms and severe weather, the Weather Channel responded with non-stop live coverage, including the ongoing presence of our crews reporting live from hard-hit communities within the Verizon FiOS footprint. This coverage resulted in the Weather Channel being the only major cable network to grow in February." The Weather Channel had earlier signed renewal agreements with major providers that are members of the National Cable Television Cooperative (NCTC), including
Time Warner Cable Time Warner Cable, Inc. (TWC) was an American cable television company. Before it was acquired by Charter Communications on May 18, 2016, it was ranked the second largest cable company in the United States by revenue behind only Comcast, operat ...
and
Cox Communications Cox Communications, Inc. (also known as Cox Cable and formerly Cox Broadcasting Corporation, Dimension Cable Services and Times-Mirror Cable) is an American digital cable television provider, telecommunications and home automation services. It i ...
. However, representatives for the channel claimed to be shocked that "Verizon FiOS would deny their subscribers access to the best live weather coverage and expertise that only the Weather Channel can provide." While Verizon claimed it was a long-term business decision (instead of a carriage dispute) that it made, the Weather Channel launched a campaign, originally urging viewers to contact FiOS about restoring the cable channel and its services. But, seeing that Verizon is not planning on bringing the channel and its services back in the near future, the Weather Channel now urges its viewers to switch providers. After a four-year absence and with the channel under ownership of Entertainment Studios, Verizon FiOS inked a new agreement to bring the Weather Channel back to its lineups on June 24, 2019. The channel has not yet returned to channel lineups within Frontier FiOS's customer footprint.


Winter storm naming

In the fall of 2012, the Weather Channel began to assign names to major winter storm systems. The channel's management stated the decision to start naming notable winter storms came as a way to more easily spread knowledge and raise awareness. By naming winter storms, TWC stated that the public would find it easier to follow storm information, social media will be able to refer to and discuss the storm, and people will have an easier time referring to the storm after it occurs. However, critics of the Weather Channel insist it is a way to further hype winter weather, especially on the heavily populated
East Coast East Coast may refer to: Entertainment * East Coast hip hop, a subgenre of hip hop * East Coast (ASAP Ferg song), "East Coast" (ASAP Ferg song), 2017 * East Coast (Saves the Day song), "East Coast" (Saves the Day song), 2004 * East Coast FM, a ra ...
. Critics contend that (south of Boston), many other areas of the United States actually experience much more frequent and intense winter weather than the East Coast, but does not have as large of a media market. The first winter storm to be named by TWC was a
nor'easter A nor'easter (also northeaster; see below), or an East Coast low is a synoptic-scale extratropical cyclone in the western North Atlantic Ocean. The name derives from the direction of the winds that blow from the northeast. The original use o ...
that hit the
East Coast of the United States The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the coastline along which the Eastern United States meets the North Atlantic Ocean. The eastern seaboard contains the coa ...
in November 2012, which was named after the Greek goddess
Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of ...
. During the 2012–13 season, the Weather Channel named 27 winter storms (
Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of ...
, Brutus, Caesar,
Draco Draco is the Latin word for serpent or dragon. Draco or Drako may also refer to: People * Draco (lawgiver) (from Greek: Δράκων; 7th century BC), the first lawgiver of ancient Athens, Greece, from whom the term ''draconian'' is derived * ...
,
Euclid Euclid (; grc-gre, Wikt:Εὐκλείδης, Εὐκλείδης; BC) was an ancient Greek mathematician active as a geometer and logician. Considered the "father of geometry", he is chiefly known for the ''Euclid's Elements, Elements'' trea ...
, Freyr, Gandolf, Helen, Iago, Jove, Khan, Luna, Magnus,
Nemo Nemo may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Games * ''Nemo'' (arcade game), a 1990 arcade game by Capcom based on ''Little Nemo'' * NEMO (video game console), an unreleased console Music * Nemo (American band), an indie rock band * Nemo ...
, Orko, Plato, Q,
Rocky ''Rocky'' is a 1976 American sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and written by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the first installment in the ''Rocky'' franchise and stars Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, and Burge ...
,
Saturn Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second-largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant with an average radius of about nine and a half times that of Earth. It has only one-eighth the average density of Earth; h ...
, Triton,
Ukko Ukko (), Äijä or Äijö ( Finnish for 'male grandparent', 'grandfather', 'old man'), parallel to Uku in Estonian mythology, is the god of the sky, weather, harvest and thunder in Finnish mythology. Ukkonen, the Finnish word for thunder, ...
, Virgil, Walda, Xerxes, Yogi, Zeus and Achilles). During the 2013–14 season, the Weather Channel named 26 winter storms (Atlas, Boreas, Cleon, Dion, Electra, Falco, Gemini, Hercules, Ion, Janus, Kronos, Leon, Maximus, Nika, Orion,
Pax Pax or PAX may refer to: Peace * Peace (Latin: ''pax'') ** Pax (goddess), the Roman goddess of peace ** Pax, a truce term * Pax (liturgy), a salutation in Catholic and Lutheran religious services * Pax (liturgical object), an object formerly ki ...
, Seneca, Titan, Ulysses, Vulcan, Wiley, Xenia, Yona and Zephyr). Multiple factors are taken into consideration when deciding whether to name a winter storm. This includes, but is not limited to, predicted snowfall and other precipitation, wind speeds, and the timing of the storm. The Weather Channel has provided the criteria behind their decisions to name certain storms, in particular Athena, Brutus, Gandolf, Iago, Khan, Luna, Magnus, Nemo, Saturn, and Virgil. In response, the
National Weather Service The National Weather Service (NWS) is an Government agency, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weathe ...
announced on November 7, 2012, that it would not recognize the Weather Channel's names for winter storms, stating in a press release that it "does not use the name of winter storms in its products." Some commentators have suggested that naming winter storms may give them undue importance in the public eye by drawing parallels to official names given to
tropical storms A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Dependi ...
, which are significantly more severe and devastating than winter storms, by the National Weather Service.Archived a
Ghostarchive
and th
Wayback Machine
starting from 7:05
References to the names are generally limited on TWC-provided forecasts seen on NBC's
news programs News broadcasting is the medium of broadcasting various news events and other information via television, radio, or the internet in the field of broadcast journalism. The content is usually either produced locally in a radio studio or televi ...
.


See also

*
Weather media in the United States The weather media in the United States includes coverage of weather and weather forecasting by farmers' almanacs, newspapers, radio, television stations, and the internet. Farmers' Almanacs have taken a stab at forecasting for the following year or ...
*
The Weather Network The Weather Network (TWN) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English language, English-language weather information specialty channel available in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. It delivers weather information on television, ...
– A Canadian Category A cable and satellite channel devoted to weather forecasts. *
WeatherStar WeatherStar (sometimes rendered Weather Star or WeatherSTAR; "STAR" being an acronym for Satellite Transponder Addressable Receiver) is the technology used by American cable and satellite television network The Weather Channel (TWC) to generate i ...
– A series of proprietary computer units installed at the head end of cable television providers that disseminate weather data. *
The Weather Company The Weather Company is a weather forecasting and information technology company that owns and operates weather.com and Weather Underground. The Weather Company has been a subsidiary of the Watson & Cloud Platform business unit of IBM since 2016. ...
– The former parent company of the Weather Channel. * '' The Weather Channel Presents: The Best of Smooth Jazz'' - the first jazz album released by the channel


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Weather Channel Entertainment Studios Former General Electric subsidiaries Former Comcast subsidiaries 1982 meteorology Television networks in the United States Companies based in Cobb County, Georgia English-language television stations in the United States Weather television networks American news websites Meteorological data and networks American corporate subsidiaries Television channels and stations established in 1982 Universal Windows Platform apps 2018 mergers and acquisitions