DirecTV axes The Weather Channel

[Vegas Halo Fan]

I'm sure that we are all in a lot more danger - at least that is what the people at The Weather Channel would like for us to believe. TWC says that they are asking for a penny more per subscriber while DTV says it is quite a bit more than that. DTV has replaced TWC with their own weather station, Weather Nation. TWC, trying to up the ante, says that DTV is endangering their subscribers by depriving them of potentially life-saving information. For the moment, at least, The Weather Channel is off DirecTV due to a rate dispute.

 

DTV says that one thing that prompted the move was customer complaints about TWC's programming, specifically reality shows. My own experience has been that I have sometimes had to wait for 20 minutes or more to get an actual weather forecast because of such life-saving programs as Prospectors, Coast Guard Alaska and It Could Happen Tomorrow. TWC devotes as much as 40 percent of their air time to programming other than weather, which is supposedly their primary mission. By the time you add in commercials, I am certain that the amount of time they spend actually keeping people informed about the weather is less than half the time they are on the air. I'm sure it is much more important for me to know what thickness of garage door will withstand a 2X4 fired out of a cannon at 70 MPH than it is for me to know that a storm may be moving in. TWC has also started naming winter storms much like hurricanes, to increase their importance, I presume.

 

My own take on it: TWC lost the plot when they decided to add entertainment programming to their weather coverage. I used to be able to tune to TWC any hour of the day or night and apart from a brief commercial break here and there,see weather conditions and forecasts across the country. Now I have to endure literally hours of reality programming (as if I have nowhere else to find it) hoping to find a break of a few minutes to find out what is coming later tonight or tomorrow. WN is what TWC used to be: Purely weather programming. Honestly, I don't care if I ever see Jim Cantore again. I had rather keep Weather Nation.

 

Now, if you will excuse me, I have to find an online feed of When Weather Changed History to see the impact of weather on the D-Day invasion.

Edited January 16, 2014 by Vegas Halo Fan

[St1ck]

I would guess most people just check the weather on their phone, or computer now. Or if you live in a place with jacked up weather, your local news is a better option.

[nate]

TWC is worthless.  I like how they are saying we are all in danger.  Now living in an area that gets severe weather, I can tell you that every single local channel does nothing but weather when there are storms in the area.  I am not in any danger without TWC.  Not to mention you have to watch it for an hour just to get your local two minute update.

[Vegas Halo Fan]

TWC is worthless.  I like how they are saying we are all in danger.  Now living in an area that gets severe weather, I can tell you that every single local channel does nothing but weather when there are storms in the area.  I am not in any danger without TWC.  Not to mention you have to watch it for an hour just to get your local two minute update.

 

When I lived in the Oklahoma City area, where tornadoes are a fact of life, every local station immediately interrupted programming for severe weather alerts, and a map was superimposed on the screen showing where the watch and warning areas were. If it was within 50 miles or so of the immediate broadcast area, the meteorologist stayed on the air and kept people advised.

Edited January 16, 2014 by Vegas Halo Fan

[Blarg]

So Cal is so screwed without 24/7 weather updates.

[Taylor]

So Cal is so screwed without 24/7 weather updates.

 

st1ckboy will be lost not knowing whether to wear his Uggs or not.

[nate]

When I lived in the Oklahoma City area, where tornadoes are a fact of life, every local station immediately interrupted programming for severe weather alerts, and a map was superimposed on the screen showing where the watch and warning areas were. If it was within 50 miles or so of the immediate broadcast area, the meteorologist stayed on the air and kept people advised.

 

Yep.  If you need the weather channel to know the weather is going to be bad in your area then you are doing it wrong.

 

Not to mention the internet.

[St1ck]

st1ckboy will be lost not knowing whether to wear his Uggs or not.

 

 

I wear Uggs regardless of the weather.

[Blarg]

st1ckboy will be lost not knowing whether to wear his Uggs or not.

That is more of a fashion channel question. I'm sure Stickboy has Bravo on his favorites.

[nate]

As if he ever changes off of gems.tv

[St1ck]

That is more of a fashion channel question. I'm sure Stickboy has Bravo on his favorites.

 

 

Still better than watching The Bachelor.

[nate]

BURN

[Blarg]

Still better than watching The Bachelor.

If you say so. How much are they paying you to watch QEFTSG?

[Sully151]

QEFTSG?

I am a little concerned that I got that without much thought.

[Tank]

Hey Blarg, ignore them. They're just being immature.

Btw, my friend, happy Juan-uary.

[mp170.6]

The only thing The Weather Channel has going for it are competent meteorologists.  Local news has bimbos reading from teleprompters. 

[HaloMagic]

The only thing The Weather Channel has going for it are competent meteorologists. Local news has bimbos reading from teleprompters.

Large-breasted bimbos reading from teleprompters. I don't see the problem.

[Angel Oracle]

Jackie Johnson FTW

[stevestevens]

We have direct tv. yesterday I sent my kids to school in shorts and flip flops with I high of 35 because I had no way of knowing what the temperature was going to be. My faMily and I really are in danger and we need Some alternative ways to find out the weather. ..... quickly

[NJHalo]

I think that Dish is anti-gay.

 

Isn't Sam Champion supposed to start there next week?

[xboom28x]

This affects people in rural areas up and down tornado alley that have satellite tv. I have watched local weather in Okla online during a tornado breakout, they are far less accurate in weather forecasts than those at The Weather Channel. Not everyone is in danger. That is silly. But those in the sticks in the midwest are in danger come March, April and May. No one covers Tornado breakouts better than the Weather Channel. Not even local 'meteorologists.' 

 

I agree that they didn't need to start showing Prospectors marathons. However, those shows are running when there isn't much weather going on in the country. When there is a blizzard, hurricane, tornado outbreak, they switch to 24/7 coverage. I don't see anything wrong with that.

 

In regards to checking your phone or internet, those radars are normally 7-15 minutes on delay. That's a lot of time that could be saved by TWC who usually has a refresh on their radars in less than 5 minutes.

 

If you can't tell, I'm a weather geek and would be upset had TWC was not picked up by my cable company.

[nate]

TWC just gets their information from models and the NWS...  There are plenty of outlets for that same information.  Not to mention that local meteorologists know the areas way better than a national service.

[Tank]

We have direct tv. yesterday I sent my kids to school in shorts and flip flops with I high of 35 because I had no way of knowing what the temperature was going to be. My faMily and I really are in danger and we need Some alternative ways to find out the weather. ..... quickly

 

http://screen.yahoo.com/wake-smile-000000476.html

[gotbeer]

 

Local news does it better.

[xboom28x]

TWC just gets their information from models and the NWS...  There are plenty of outlets for that same information.  Not to mention that local meteorologists know the areas way better than a national service.

 

You would be surprised how much info TWC has. MN covers the entire state of MN plus the West half of WI. They don't know the rural areas of the entire state plus half of another state. The best meteorologists in the business are at TWC. They are relied on heavily during big storm events. Do you need to watch TWC to find out when it will stop drizzling? No. The only reason I watch local weather in the mornings when it snows is because they show me the roads that are closed locally due to snow. But if I want to know what time it is going to snow, I have found that TWC is more accurate than any of the local stations. And it's not even close. Especially when depicting when the storm hits, and how hard.