Weather Channel Is Sold to NBC and Equity Firms

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Future of Weather Plus: 'Undetermined'
Published 7/6/2008 by Brian Stelter at TV Decoder
How will NBC Weather Plus, the digital weather network, fit inside NBC Universal now that the company is acquiring the Weather Channel? Weather Plus, which started in 2004, was meant to compete with the Weather Channel on local forecasts and national weather news. It uses NBC’s local affiliates and the multicasting abilities of digital television. But the service has not yet turned a profit and is ...

It’s official: Weather Channel sold to NBC
Published 7/6/2008 by Michael Gay at Lost Remote
... A group of investors, led by NBC Universal, closed the deal to acquire the Weather Channel, according to the NY Times. The price is reported to be around $3.5 billion, although an official number was not announced. TWC will not be folded into NBC’s Weather Plus, instead being run independently. The NBC Nightly News tonight said that the deal is expected to be completed before the end of the year. Jeffrey Zucker told the NYTimes that the future of Weather Plus was “undetermined at this point,” and said the company and its affiliate partners would evaluate it ...

Get Ready for More Shows Starring the Weather
Published 7/7/2008 by Brian Stelter at TV Decoder
One aspect of The Weather Channel that could benefit from NBC Universal’s acquisition is its emerging emphasis on documentary-style programming. Recognizing that straight-up weather forecasts are standard information on the Internet, the channel has been beefing up its production of long-form programming. In that respect, The Weather Channel is acting a lot like NBC’s cable news channel MSNBC, which also relies heavily on taped documentaries. Under its new corporate parents, The Weather Channel seems likely to continue creating “destination” shows. NBC Universal and two ...