Sinclair buying the Weather Channel & hubbing weather?

[Weeters 1811]

FTVLive has an interesting article that says rumors are swirling within Sinclair that the company is on the verge of buying The Weather Channel, and that the plan once they got it would be to lay off the meteorologists at the majority of Sinclair stations and farm out weather duties to a handful of meteorologists at The Weather Channel.

 

Weather is almost universally a huge ratings driver, so if this "works" and the general public doesn't notice/ratings aren't affected, I'd expect other station groups to do this as well.

 

If you have your sights set on working in TV news... you might want to double major in something like IT. Just sayin'.

[William1111 41]

I can just see it now....

 

"First they came for the meteorologists, and I did not speak out--

Because I was not a meteorologist.

 

Then they came for the sports reporters, and I did not speak out--

Because I was not a sports reporter.

 

Then they came for the anchors, and I did not speak out--

Because I was not an anchor.

 

Then they came for me--and there was no one left to speak for me"

[mardek1995 200]

FTVLive has an interesting article that says rumors are swirling within Sinclair that the company is on the verge of buying The Weather Channel, and that the plan once they got it would be to lay off the meteorologists at the majority of Sinclair stations and farm out weather duties to a handful of meteorologists at The Weather Channel.

 

Weather is almost universally a huge ratings driver, so if this "works" and the general public doesn't notice/ratings aren't affected, I'd expect other station groups to do this as well.

 

If you have your sights set on working in TV news... you might want to double major in something like IT. Just sayin'.

Isnt there already a thread on this?

[atlnews2 557]

god I hope this doesn't happen. Not only would this be terrible for the industry, it would be terrible for the weather channel.

 

newscentral failed, why would they think this would work ?

[KevCor 344]

FTVLive has an interesting article that says rumors are swirling within Sinclair that the company is on the verge of buying The Weather Channel, and that the plan once they got it would be to lay off the meteorologists at the majority of Sinclair stations and farm out weather duties to a handful of meteorologists at The Weather Channel.

 

Weather is almost universally a huge ratings driver, so if this "works" and the general public doesn't notice/ratings aren't affected, I'd expect other station groups to do this as well.

 

If you have your sights set on working in TV news... you might want to double major in something like IT. Just sayin'.

 

Even if it becomes our worst nightmare... and even if it is profitable, both ratingswise and financially.... I can't fathom ANY other station group...hell I can't even fathom the worst of them -- the Sinclairs and Nexstars -- doing it.

 

Even though TWC does severe weather, it does so on a national level, without having to do much focus on the individual communities. The FCC would have a MAJOR fight on their hands if this were to come to fruition, and this plan were to be implemented.

 

Could you imagine the legend that is James Spann being replaced?! I mean come on....

[rkolsen 1678]

I wonder how they'd plan on handling a blizzard or a hurricane where stations would go into storm mode and preempt everything. I don't think The Weather Channel has enough meteorologists on staff to cover many of Sinclair's stations and the network simultaneously.

[Weeters 1811]

Isnt there already a thread on this?

I looked and didn't find anything...

 

I wonder how they'd plan on handling a blizzard or a hurricane where stations would go into storm mode and preempt everything. I don't think The Weather Channel has enough meteorologists on staff to cover many of Sinclair's stations and the network simultaneously.

They could always hire three or four more... I mean, you lay off three or four per station and hire a handful in Atlanta and you're still saving hundreds of thousands of (if not over a million) dollars a year.

[ProButtonPusher 230]

There are several ways to look at this, good and bad...no matter what your opinion is:

 

How much money will it really save? Couldn't you hub weather even without purchasing TWC, saving even more money?

 

How will you do hyper-local content for so many stations? TV thrives on hyper-local, and eliminating a huge element like local weather is a big chunk of the local identity.

 

Do the tiny markets get regional weather only?

 

Do you only have hub weather in certain markets on weekends, with the ability for local weekday talent to take over in a severe weather situation?

 

How do you keep these forecasts updated and fresh for every hit?

 

What market size is the cut-off for having in-house weather?

 

What if you have severe weather in multiple markets? How do you handle that?

 

How do you avoid backlash from loyal viewers?

 

Obviously, a lot of variables. Curious to see how this plays out.

[NEOMatrix 1295]

I wouldn't be surprised if Sinclair decided to expand the "Local on the 8s" concept to its stations. Just have it similar to that and BOOM! You at least have local weather for your station. Why should Sinclair pay ol' Jimmy Spann to drone on when you can set aside 2 minutes of a newscast for weather with Jim Cantore and jazz music in the background?

[Eat News 4738]

 

How do you avoid backlash from loyal viewers?

.

 

You don't...and Sinclair does NOT care.

Approach this from the sales angle...can you sell this to a sponsor, a NATIONAL sponsor?

Can that sponsor pay for most of this?

[Greggo 340]

The Weather Channel brand is strong. VERY strong. It could give major credibility to Sinclair stations ... many of which are dog stations that are last or next to last in their respective markets and can use whatever boost they can get.

[GoldenShine9 1509]

The competition in Sinclair markets would likely jump on it, expand their weather staff and enhance their local and hyper-local credentials, since TWC isn't exactly a local source.

[AJClementeFan69 477]

I can just see it now....

 

"First they came for the meteorologists, and I did not speak out--

Because I was not a meteorologist.

 

Then they came for the sports reporters, and I did not speak out--

Because I was not a sports reporter.

 

Then they came for the anchors, and I did not speak out--

Because I was not an anchor.

 

Then they came for me--and there was no one left to speak for me"

 

Oh come on. I love bad taste as much as the next guy...but this is terrible.

[AJClementeFan69 477]

FTVLive has an interesting article that says rumors are swirling within Sinclair that the company is on the verge of buying The Weather Channel, and that the plan once they got it would be to lay off the meteorologists at the majority of Sinclair stations and farm out weather duties to a handful of meteorologists at The Weather Channel.

 

Weather is almost universally a huge ratings driver, so if this "works" and the general public doesn't notice/ratings aren't affected, I'd expect other station groups to do this as well.

 

If you have your sights set on working in TV news... you might want to double major in something like IT. Just sayin'.

 

Wouldn't shock me if they tried. But I don't think it would work well for them. People would notice.

[Georgie56 3066]

Oh, God. Sinclair must write the book, "How Not To Run A TV Station Group".

[mrschimpf 2060]

Sinclair's weather systems are usually by far the worst in their markets, so the Weather Channel could only help; I could see something like AMHQ being extended to their netlet and lower-tier Fox stations in the morning that provides something much better than the barter junk those stations usually have to settle for (tell me a station that actually enjoys carrying The Balancing Act and transcript court shows, please), and much more immediate weather coverage on cable from affiliate stations. And I've been happily surprised by their Tennis Channel management where they finally told management there 'you're a niche channel...now let's build the niche more and get carriage rather than whining you're not on a channel 33 only a few watch now because it's 2016'.

 

Still, I have worries; the usual about their views pretty much squelching any talk about climate change there, for instance. And laying off local staff is a worry. But TWC does fine on the radio side, a whole lot better than AccuWeather does outside the big CBS all-newsers. And if SBG's strategy is more weather rather than more junk reality, it's definitely wise.

[detroiter313 178]

And just when you thought The Tennis Channel (which Sinclair now owns) isn't enough to satisfy the huge appetites of the big wigs over at Hunt Valley...

[mardek1995 200]

You don't...and Sinclair does NOT care.

Approach this from the sales angle...can you sell this to a sponsor, a NATIONAL sponsor?

Can that sponsor pay for most of this?

Dont care about wht other people think, they said. Sinclair took that advice really well and, as I can guess that you think, a little too well

[TSSZNews 1046]

I'm going to post a very unpopular thought, that I do not necessarily believe.

 

What if Sinclair buying TWC, hubbing weather, and keeping the forecasts generally regional ends up being the right thing to do?

 

I've lost count of how many times I've seen nasty-grams on station social media accounts about interrupting programming for a weather event. The most vocal viewer--maybe not the average and certainly not the smartest--could not care less whether there's a thunderstorm or snowstorm outside in most markets. Tornado alley? Alert away. Hurricane coming? Sure. But in places where they are generally prepared for adverse weather? God help you if you interrupt Judge Judy or Jeopardy.

 

In some ways, I think the general public has taken a nihilist approach to weather because weather events have been hyped up so much, and eight times out of ten those events don't deliver. Or worse--someone botches a forecast the other way and not enough coverage is given until it's too late. Katrina was the last major hurricane to make landfall in the United States (or Sandy, depending on your level of Northeast Bias™) and we're now more than 10 years past that. Blizzards, extreme cold and extreme heat are not mass casualty events anymore.

 

So if Sinclair ends up hubbing via TWC, they are saving a boatload of money on talent and equipment (and, I imagine, saving up for an even larger purchase) for the 80 percent of the time the weather's fine. And for the other 20 percent, they have a team of incredibly experienced mets to call up that, I imagine, can tailor to the needs of several markets or go hyper-local if need be.

 

But that's a theoretical. I'd like to think Sinclair learned its lesson with the News Central experiment. And I bet a few of you thought NBC would pull the same stunts when they shacked up with TWC, and other than some integration with the network side, not much happened. And remember when we were all frothing at the mouth on whether News Channel 8 would go national? That didn't pan out either.

[Sendir 192]

And the worst part... TWC would have to adopt those hideous graphics.

[tyrannical bastard 3464]

This could go either way. The stations could be used to benefit TWC, and vice versa. Chief and Morning meteorologists could be safe, but weekend or ancillary ones could be cut on the local level in favor of hubbed weather.

 

If it's done right, it could even kill the stigma of what TWC has become under NBC and it's partners. But it could be another avenue for Sinclair's games that they play with ANYTHING they touch...

 

 

And remember when we were all frothing at the mouth on whether News Channel 8 would go national? That didn't pan out either.

Yet.... Sinclair has the Tennis Channel. The Weather Channel could be next. Other channels may be up for grabs. If Comcast wants to "sell off" some channels, Sinclair could be more than willing to buy them...

[DirtyHarry 719]

I know this is ancient history but this is not exactly a new concept. The WLW stations were doing this through the late 1960s with their Central Weather Office being in Cincinnati.

 

 

Jerry Rasor would call down to Tony Sands every night before the weathercast just to make sure that he had it right after WLWC started having their own weather casts.

 

Also, radio stations use these services and they work fairly well.

 

(You'll notice the reference to "Three City Final" at the end of the weather cast. The eleven o'clock news was microwaved to Dayton and Columbus and was broadcast on all three stations as the "Three City Final".)

 

... That said, I think you guys are blowing this out of proportion just like you blew the News Central concept out of proportion. News Central was never intended as a vehicle to blow up existing news operations. News Central was Sinclair trying to find the way to bring local programming to their roster of CW and myTV stations.

 

They are smart enough to leave their local weather staffs alone. Maybe they trim, but I don't see them cutting them out completely.

 

Maybe they intend to beef up their small market weather presentation, although what I really think they should do is have people from a nearby big city handling those duties (for example Columbus handling Steubenville).

 

I just had another thought. Perhaps this could also be part of their plans for News Channel 8?

 

The Weather Channel turning into "The Weather and News Channel" might be where this is going. Non-stop weather is overkill, but a cable news channel whose niche isn't conservative news or liberal news but an expertise on weather? I think it works.

 

Or maybe it's a vehicle to bundle News Channel 8 along with the Weather Channel.

[mrschimpf 2060]

... That said, I think you guys are blowing this out of proportion just like you blew the News Central concept out of proportion. News Central was never intended as a vehicle to blow up existing news operations. News Central was Sinclair trying to find the way to bring local programming to their roster of CW and myTV stations.

 

They are smart enough to leave their local weather staffs alone. Maybe they trim, but I don't see them cutting them out completely.

 

Maybe they intend to beef up their small market weather presentation, although what I really think they should do is have people from a nearby big city handling those duties (for example Columbus handling Steubenville).

 

Exactly what I'm thinking...SBG has begun to see benefits from going local with their CW/MyNet stations and ASN when it comes to sports. Why not begin to specialize in good quality weather?

 

Plus there's another thing to be considering, especially since SBG is a major backer of ATSC 3.0, which means a purchase of TWC gives them a great way to influence weather targeting and the ultimate 'weather warning in some old railroad junction 85 miles south of town doesn't pre-empt the show in the major city' solution most viewers want (and social media managers and switchboard operators would love). TWC would bring a respectable name and known headend technology to over-the-air. Partly this has to be about the tech now that SBG has an influence in ATSC they didn't have the first time around. I'm not usually a Sinclair cheerleader by any means, but anything to make EAS and warning better has a great benefit.

[wxsquirrel 0]

I know this is ancient history but this is not exactly a new concept. The WLW stations were doing this through the late 1960s with their Central Weather Office being in Cincinnati.

 

Jerry Rasor would call down to Tony Sands every night before the weathercast just to make sure that he had it right after WLWC started having their own weather casts.

 

Also, radio stations use these services and they work fairly well.

 

(You'll notice the reference to "Three City Final" at the end of the weather cast. The eleven o'clock news was microwaved to Dayton and Columbus and was broadcast on all three stations as the "Three City Final".)

 

In terms of radio stations using a group weather think of how generic and non-detailed these weather segments actually are. I don't think that would work in TV. Not to mention the severe weather situations, or even just active weather, going on in several markets at the same time. TWC has even admitted on the air during these that they cannot cover everything. Good luck trying to do that when you have to cover everything and do it all locally.

[rkolsen 1678]

This is a bit of speculation but maybe NBC was eyeing a sale when they designed their Storm Rangers (it's on my mind) wrap/paint scheme. They only have NBC / Telemundo branding but I assume it could be explained by the fact that the trucks purchased by the NBC Owned Stations group for their primary use. That being said I could see them feeding data back to NBC.

 

I will just throw this out there I think that The Weather Company stupid to sell the non broadcast assets to IBM.