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Weather Channel Goes on the Attack Against DirecTV

Jan 13, 2014  •  Post A Comment

The Weather Channel has mounted an offensive against DirecTV. Writing on the Los Angeles Times’ Company Town blog, Joe Flint reports that the move comes amid concerns that the pay-TV provider will drop the network when the current contract extension expires Tuesday.

In a statement, David Kenny, chief executive of Weather Co., the parent of the Weather Channel, said: “For DirecTV to take us off their lineup would be deeply irresponsible to its customers who not only count on the Weather Channel on a day-to-day basis, but depend on us before, during and after severe weather events."

Weather Channel is asking DirecTV viewers to call their senators and congressmen to ask them to keep what the network describes as “this critical public safety resource” in the DirecTV lineup, according to the story.

Flint writes: “The two sides are divided over financial terms, people familiar with the matter said. The Weather Channel, which is increasing its spending on weather-related programming and recently hired "Good Morning America" weatherman Sam Champion to host a new morning show, is looking to boost the fees it gets from pay-TV distributors.”

While the Weather Channel only charges about 13 cents per month per subscriber, much less than entertainment networks such as USA, its audience is much smaller, prompting DirecTV to balk, Flint points out.

Thumbnail image for sam champion.pngSam Champion

4 Comments

  1. I have never looked at Weather Channel in the nearly 20 years I have been a DirecTV subscriber. And I am sure there are many more like me. I get my weather locally from my local channels. They should be happy that DirecTV has been carrying them and paying them 13 cents per month for subscribers like me who never turn the network on. If we were able to only pay for the channels we actually watch, there would be a lot more than Weather Channel that would be losing many subscribers quickly.

  2. ill pay directv an extra 13cents a month to KEEP WEATHER CHANNEL OFF my lineup. nothing but crap from has been al roker and now sam champion? please!

  3. They need to retitled the channel “The Advertising Channel with Occasional Weather”. Only time I ever look at their irritating offering is when there’s a hurricane in the Gulf… but actually get more info from NOAA.

  4. I think the weather channel is intended to help save lives,and inform people of impending weather problems ,it is not intended to be used for sports programs and advertising or other nonsense, keep all this kind of junk off the weather channel and more folks would watch it and depend on it making it worth the extra cost.
    I would happily pay an extra $5.00 a month to keep it, if the would use it ofr the weather not all the other junk

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