topic Re: weather channel in Community Chat

weather channel

SharkE — Thu, 12 Nov 2015 01:23:21 GMT

What's happened to weather channel? Sam got the can I guess. What's all this weather underground stuff? Has weather on the 8ths gone too? Hate this new format ! The sets is in some old basement with peeling paint and basement junk. Horrible!

Re: weather channel

millieshops — Thu, 12 Nov 2015 01:36:53 GMT

I'm fairly certain they're having trouble. Sam probably cost too much for the number of viewers he was able to draw. I know I never once tuned him in on the WC.

Re: weather channel

loveschocolate — Thu, 12 Nov 2015 01:38:44 GMT

@SharkE, I quit watching a few years ago, when they started with all these "shows" instead of covering the weather. Remember when MTV was all music videos?? Then they changed to all those shows.

Re: weather channel

GarlandGal — Thu, 12 Nov 2015 01:43:45 GMT

Verizon Fios no longer carries the Weather Channel and that's a lot of lost viewers.

Re: weather channel

JustJazzmom — Thu, 12 Nov 2015 01:47:14 GMT

I like the Weather Channel's local on the 8s. I appreciated it when we travel in an unfamilar city. FiOs lost them and put in Accuweather. There used to be a local weather channel called WeatherScan which was in conjunction with the Weather Channel. Both channels were lost when FiOs decided to not renew contract with The Weather Channel.

Re: weather channel

SundayMonday — Thu, 12 Nov 2015 02:19:16 GMT

Al Roker got fired a couple of weeks ago, so that should save some money. He was smarting off to some big wig and they canned him. Havn't heard anything about Sam, I liked him just fine. He and Jim C. make/made a funny team.

Ok, I had to go to google news to find out. This was dated Sept 15.

http://nydn.us/1KHQE67

Re: weather channel

Annabellethecat66 — Thu, 12 Nov 2015 02:21:48 GMT

I love the weather channel. Sometimes my eyes glaze over but I still like it.

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maryebrown — Thu, 12 Nov 2015 02:35:10 GMT

Yes, Sam is gone...and I find the Morning Show to be much better. I NEVER watched GMA, so I didn't know him from Adam. I did google him last year, and I was not impressed, with his credentials nor his performance.

Re: weather channel

shoptilyadropagain — Thu, 12 Nov 2015 02:53:18 GMT

I don't care for all the stupid shows either! I call TWC the East Coast weather channel. I'm in the midwest and if there is a major snow storm coming our way in a few days we're ignored and, instead, they focus nonstop on how it will impact the east coast. Granted, that is a major area with tons of big cities but at least let us know how the storm will impact us!!!!! I used to watch TWC a lot and would leave it on for background noise if I was doing other things but I rarely watch it anymore. (I still love Jim Cantorre though)!!!

Re: weather channel

SharkE — Thu, 12 Nov 2015 03:11:40 GMT

@loveschocolate wrote:
@SharkE, I quit watching a few years ago, when they started with all these "shows" instead of covering the weather. Remember when MTV was all music videos?? Then they changed to all those shows.

Hey girlfriend ! How's it going ? Getting tired yet? LOL

Guess I can forget the weather we got used too. When we're on vacation first thing we do is turn on the cable to see what to expect and back at home before he leaves for the day we would watch what it was gonna be for that day. Now, it's some ol' dirty basement setting and 2 chumps rattling on and on about stuff that nobody cares about.

Nothing is constant in today's world ! I hate that !

Re: weather channel

SharkE — Thu, 12 Nov 2015 03:18:47 GMT

@Bettyboopers wrote:
Al Roker got fired a couple of weeks ago, so that should save some money. He was smarting off to some big wig and they canned him. Havn't heard anything about Sam, I liked him just fine. He and Jim C. make/made a funny team.

Ok, I had to go to google news to find out. This was dated Sept 15.
http://nydn.us/1KHQE67

Thanks for the link ! Very informative.

Re: weather channel

maryebrown — Thu, 12 Nov 2015 03:20:55 GMT

When DirectTV had contractual issues with TWC (I think it was in January of last year), we started watching Weather Nation (channel 361). We got used to it - their local weather is on the 5's - and they show the drought monitors, rain & snow monitors, the next 3 days along with scrolling WARNINGS, by state and counties along the bottom of the screen. It's ALL weather 24/7, without the stupid shows: Fat Guys in the Woods...really ? WHO CARES ! LOL And, this Weather Underground show - it's all about the ManCave...ROTFL

Re: weather channel

makeup addict — Thu, 12 Nov 2015 03:21:19 GMT

I love the new shows! Why planes Crash and Tornado Ally are some of my faves. I like disaster movies so The shows appeal to me. I can ch eck the weatheron my ipad or phone, but I will watch anything woth Steve Cantori. His excitement over thunder snow is classic!

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Desertdi — Thu, 12 Nov 2015 09:09:11 GMT

TWC has been steadily going downhill. The 8's even go missing..........

Re: weather channel

bonnielu — Thu, 12 Nov 2015 12:15:58 GMT

I know longer watch. It has gotten to many shows. I just want my weather and I am having trouble with that. The Weather on the Eights is it still there. That was all I wanted. Now I just use my cellphone to find local weather or listen to local radio on the hour or just stick my head out the door.

Re: weather channel

KYToby — Thu, 12 Nov 2015 13:00:11 GMT

Why does anyoe with internet access or smartphone ever need to tune into TWC for weather information? In addition to these resources, my cable company has yje information available on my cale guide plus a statewide weather information network.

Re: weather channel

dooBdoo — Thu, 12 Nov 2015 13:16:54 GMT

I have no idea if the gossip posted about Al Roker is accurate -- I though earlier threads had information that his show was cancelled because it was broadcast from NYC and it was dropped as part of their cost cuts. Here's the article I posted on 9/10/15 when these changes were announced:

~~~~~~

Sam Champion loses show in major Weather Channel shakeup

"The Weather Channel is canceling Sam Champion's morning newscast, replacing reality shows with more weather coverage, cutting TV production costs and laying off some staffers in a sweeping adjustment to changes in the cable business.

The channel shared a detailed plan with staffers on Wednesday morning. About 50 of the channel's 1,400 employees will be leaving.

The plan calls for a singular focus "on our unique strength -- and that is the weather."

With the cable channel bundle coming under increasing pressure, and "skinny bundles" becoming more common, "it's inevitable that channels will be cut," Weather Company CEO David Kenny said in an interview.

With this in mind, "we need to be really clear who we are," Kenny said.

That means paring back its original programming investments (shows like "Prospectors" and "Fat Guys in the Woods") and lifestyle coverage. The priority is essential, live weather coverage -- particularly during periods of severe weather -- and local information.

"It's going to cost more money to do longer hours of live, so we have to be more efficient about it," he said.

Overall TV spending will be reduced as well. Kenny said "we're now a technology company that owns a TV channel, not a TV company."

Weather.com is increasingly the front door for the company's customers. In the second quarter of 2015, for the first time, its digital business had higher revenues and profits than its TV business.

At the same time, the TV side has been in a defensive posture, trying to hold onto the monthly subscriber fees that it receives from cable and satellite distributors.

When DirecTV dropped the channel for three months last year, it was an early signal that those fees are in jeopardy.

Wednesday's shakeup is a direct result of discussions with distributors, advertisers and audience focus groups.

Dave Shull, the president of the Weather Company's TV division, said distributors are "only going to carry channels they have to carry in the future."

Shull knows first hand. Until recently, he was a top executive at the Dish Network (DISH).

So what channels will those be? "Those that are live; that are on-brand; and that do something no one else does," Shull said.

That's how Shull is explaining the various decisions he announced in an internal memo Wednesday.

Champion, who became the host of the channel's 7 to 10 a.m. hours just last year, will end on October 30. His show, "AMHQ," includes the kind of lifestyle and entertainment segments that the channel is now moving away from.

The channel says Champion, who was poached from ABC's "Good Morning America," will remain a full-time host with a focus on prime time and new digital ventures.

The "AMHQ" brand will remain, but it will focus on straight-forward weather storytelling.

"Over the next several months, you will see us further simplify our branding across all dayparts," Shull said in his internal memo.

"Regardless of the time of day, our mission is the same -- to provide the best weather forecasts and stories, and scientific expert explanations of those forecasts."

Kenny and Shull said they expect to take a "ratings hit" as the reality shows gradually go away.

But the channel, Kenny said, will "become more of a service," there to "super-serve the audience."

That said, Shull said the channel's weather reports will strive to be more than just a "man and a map," because basic weather forecasts are now so easily accessible on mobile devices.

The TV sweet spot, he said, is "the story and the science behind the forecasts."

The channel will cut back on a variety of other production costs and perhaps lean more heavily from viewer submissions.

Shull said he is interested in incorporating more video clips and live streams from viewers at home who are witnessing severe and unusual weather.

The company is also prioritizing a localized weather, traffic and news channel it is calling Local Now. It wants to sell the channel to streaming cable-like services like Sling TV."

source: http://money.cnn.com/2015/09/09/media/weather-channel-sam-champion/

Re: weather channel

dooBdoo — Thu, 12 Nov 2015 13:26:09 GMT

This is the article posted by @Susan Louise in the earlier thread ("The Weather Channel 'shakeup'..." posted on 9/9/15, and it doesn't appear Roker was "fired":

~~~~~~

"Sam Champion and Al Roker will lose their respective Weather Channel programs in a company cost cutting plan that will refocus the Atlanta-based channel on weather news and its robust digital business.

Champion, who was poached from Good Morning America last year to anchor morning show America's Weather HQ, will have his last show on Oct. 30. Instead, Champion will focus on primetime weather reporting and digital ventures.

Roker's early morning program Wake Up with Al is taped in New York, a necessity of Roker's other job on NBC's Today.

Weather Channel is shuttering its New York studio, which Dave Shull, president of Weather Channel Television Group deemed too "cost-prohibitive."

Roker's last show will be Oct. 2. He will continue to make appearances from New York during severe weather coverage. He also will focus on digital projects.

The weekday morning 5 - 10 a.m. block will now be produced in Atlanta, while Stephanie Abrams will return to the channel to be a "key part" of the morning team, wrote Shull in a note to staffers Wednesday morning.

Additionally, 50 staffers will lose their jobs in the reorganization."

source: http://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/news/sam-champion-al-roker-lose-shows-in-weather-channel-cost-cutting/ar-AAe6KCr?ocid=ansmsnent11

Re: weather channel

151949 — Thu, 12 Nov 2015 13:27:12 GMT

@shoptilyadropagain wrote:
I don't care for all the stupid shows either! I call TWC the East Coast weather channel. I'm in the midwest and if there is a major snow storm coming our way in a few days we're ignored and, instead, they focus nonstop on how it will impact the east coast. Granted, that is a major area with tons of big cities but at least let us know how the storm will impact us!!!!! I used to watch TWC a lot and would leave it on for background noise if I was doing other things but I rarely watch it anymore. (I still love Jim Cantorre though)!!!

I feel the same way about the weather channel. They will be talking about a hurricane out in the Atlantic and never mention Florida - but instead go right to how it will impact the mid atlantic coast. I think they also overdramatize these storms most of the time. They scare people to death and it turns out to be nothing, meanwhile the storm that is going to take your roof off is out in the Gulf of Mexico and they don't even mention it.

Re: weather channel

Suziepeach — Thu, 12 Nov 2015 15:17:15 GMT

Gosh I sure miss the old format with the Weather Channel. Our friend, Bill, was a weatherman there and left for Florida, and we met Jim Cantore at the grocery store... I guess things have to move forward but sometimes, it isn't quite the right thing to do..