The Weather Cast
Encyclopedia
The Weather Cast was a short-lived television channel seen exclusively on Dish Network
. The channel was devoted solely to weather forecasts
from across the United States and was a direct competitor to NBC Universal
, Bain Capital
and Blackstone Group
's The Weather Channel
. The service was owned by Minneapolis
-based WeatherNation, LLC. The channel was operated for only four days, setting a record for the shortest time a television channel has been on air.
The channel launched on Dish Network channel 213 on May 20, 2010. The next day, on May 21, 2010, Dish Network announced that it would be eliminating The Weather Channel from its lineups in favor of The Weather Cast, citing rights fees (The Weather Channel requested a rate increase from 11 cents per subscriber to 12 cents, a nine percent increase, totalling $140,000 per month for all Dish subscribers) and The Weather Channel's decision to move toward movies and other entertainment programming.
Dish Network and The Weather Channel reached an agreement to continue carriage of The Weather Channel on May 24, 2010, even though Dish's concerns about programming remained only partially addressed (the Friday night movie that was particularly unpopular with viewers was removed, but instead replaced with more entertainment programming). This agreement led to the discontinuation of The Weather Cast, making it one of the shortest-lived television channels in history. The agreement also led to The Weather Channel to produce a local Weatherscan
-style weather information channel for Dish Network, as this advisory indicates on The Weather Cast's channel after its demise:
At 5:30 P.M. Eastern Time, the screen was replaced with a message saying this:
As of June 1, 2010, DISH Network channel 213 was off the air, with no indication when or if the locally-based TWC channel would launch.
On March 30, 2011, WeatherNation announced that they will be relaunching their national weather channel, now as WeatherNation TV, beginning in the Second Quarter of 2011, with the member systems of the National Cable Television Cooperative being the first to offer the channel. WeatherNation TV began broadcast the last week of July, 2011. WeatherNation would gain at least one terrestrial outlet by October 2011, Stuart, Florida's
WHDT
.
Dish Network
Dish Network Corporation is the second largest pay TV provider in the United States, providing direct broadcast satellite service—including satellite television, audio programming, and interactive television services—to 14.337 million commercial and residential customers in the United States. Dish...
. The channel was devoted solely to weather forecasts
Weather forecasting
Weather forecasting is the application of science and technology to predict the state of the atmosphere for a given location. Human beings have attempted to predict the weather informally for millennia, and formally since the nineteenth century...
from across the United States and was a direct competitor to NBC Universal
NBC Universal
NBCUniversal Media, LLC is a media and entertainment company engaged in the production and marketing of entertainment, news, and information products and services to a global customer base...
, Bain Capital
Bain Capital
Bain Capital LLC is a Boston-based private equity firm founded in 1984 by partners from the consulting firm Bain & Company. Originally conceived as an early-stage, growth-oriented investment fund, Bain Capital today manages approximately $65 billion in assets, and its strategies include private...
and Blackstone Group
Blackstone Group
The Blackstone Group L.P. is an American-based alternative asset management and financial services company that specializes in private equity, real estate, and credit and marketable alternative investment strategies, as well as financial advisory services, such as mergers and acquisitions ,...
's The Weather Channel
The Weather Channel
The Weather Channel is a US cable and satellite television network since May 2, 1982, that broadcasts weather forecasts and weather-related news, along with entertainment programming related to weather 24 hours a day...
. The service was owned by Minneapolis
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
-based WeatherNation, LLC. The channel was operated for only four days, setting a record for the shortest time a television channel has been on air.
Background
See also: The Weather Channel#Dish Network carriage disputeThe channel launched on Dish Network channel 213 on May 20, 2010. The next day, on May 21, 2010, Dish Network announced that it would be eliminating The Weather Channel from its lineups in favor of The Weather Cast, citing rights fees (The Weather Channel requested a rate increase from 11 cents per subscriber to 12 cents, a nine percent increase, totalling $140,000 per month for all Dish subscribers) and The Weather Channel's decision to move toward movies and other entertainment programming.
Dish Network and The Weather Channel reached an agreement to continue carriage of The Weather Channel on May 24, 2010, even though Dish's concerns about programming remained only partially addressed (the Friday night movie that was particularly unpopular with viewers was removed, but instead replaced with more entertainment programming). This agreement led to the discontinuation of The Weather Cast, making it one of the shortest-lived television channels in history. The agreement also led to The Weather Channel to produce a local Weatherscan
Weatherscan
Weatherscan is a TV channel offered by The Weather Channel. Carried on select cable systems in the United States, Weatherscan features uninterrupted local weather information in graphical format on a continuous loop...
-style weather information channel for Dish Network, as this advisory indicates on The Weather Cast's channel after its demise:
At 5:30 P.M. Eastern Time, the screen was replaced with a message saying this:
As of June 1, 2010, DISH Network channel 213 was off the air, with no indication when or if the locally-based TWC channel would launch.
On March 30, 2011, WeatherNation announced that they will be relaunching their national weather channel, now as WeatherNation TV, beginning in the Second Quarter of 2011, with the member systems of the National Cable Television Cooperative being the first to offer the channel. WeatherNation TV began broadcast the last week of July, 2011. WeatherNation would gain at least one terrestrial outlet by October 2011, Stuart, Florida's
Stuart, Florida
Stuart is the only incorporated city of Martin County, Florida, on Florida's Treasure Coast. The population was 14,633 at the 2000 census. As of 2007, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 15,964....
WHDT
WHDT
WHDT is an independent full service television station broadcasting in the West Palm Beach, Miami and Boston television markets. Founded May 25, 2000, the station is licensed to Stuart, Florida and is authorized to broadcast on RF channel 42 from a tower in Wellington, Florida, and on RF channel...
.
External links
- Official Web site (Under construction)
- WeatherNation TV
- Press release regarding the channel's launch