Author Topic: Dish Network to drop Weather Channel tonight  (Read 11128 times)

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Offline weatherforyou

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Dish Network to drop Weather Channel tonight
« on: May 20, 2010, 10:55:38 PM »
Apparently Dish Network also thinks The Weather Channel "... is relying too much on "weather-tainment" such as movies, and turning away from local-weather reporting."

Scheduled to happen in just a few hours.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704513104575256880784721458.html?mod=WSJ_latestheadlines
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN2021422020100520
http://www.ajc.com/business/dish-to-drop-weather-532010.html
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-05-20/dish-network-drops-weather-channel-starts-service-update1-.html

Soon to come... Weather Cast.  ;)
Joe Torsitano


Offline kray1000

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Re: Dish Network to drop Weather Channel tonight
« Reply #1 on: May 20, 2010, 11:05:58 PM »
I think it's about time TWC had some competition.

I'm tired of tuning in for current weather information and finding anything but.  Or is it "butt"?  :roll:

Offline IMADreamer

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Re: Dish Network to drop Weather Channel tonight
« Reply #2 on: May 20, 2010, 11:14:18 PM »
Gonna miss Heather Tesch, but other then that no loss there. lol  BTW watching Weathercast for the first time now, it's very unpolished but kinda cool.  

Edit: weathercast appears not to be live.  That's not good at all.  Seems to be a couple hours behind right now actually.
« Last Edit: May 20, 2010, 11:20:14 PM by IMADreamer »
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Offline Downlinerz2

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Re: Dish Network to drop Weather Channel tonight
« Reply #3 on: May 21, 2010, 12:03:08 AM »
   I hope that doesn't happen with my cablesystem.  For the past 4 days I have watched at least 3 straight hours per night as they covered the severe weather. Mike Bettis(spelling?) in the field and Dr. Forbes and Cantore explaining the radars and SRV's and a ton of other stuff has been the best weather class I have ever had. It's not everyday you get a meteo of Dr. Forbes caliber teaching interpreting radars and such.  I at least hope my cable company will wait till winter.

Offline WeatherHost

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Re: Dish Network to drop Weather Channel tonight
« Reply #4 on: May 21, 2010, 12:55:31 AM »
If they get dropped off a few more systems, they might rethink their programming.  That may not get them back on the systems they lost though.


Reading the stories, it seems to be as much about money and carriage fees as it is about programming.
« Last Edit: May 21, 2010, 01:03:52 AM by WeatherHost »

Offline WeatherHost

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Re: Dish Network to drop Weather Channel tonight
« Reply #5 on: May 21, 2010, 06:49:27 AM »
Still on for now.

Offline ncpilot

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Re: Dish Network to drop Weather Channel tonight
« Reply #6 on: May 21, 2010, 08:36:39 AM »
I just noticed the new channel last night... is it supposed to be interactive in any way? I noticed the tabs at the bottom of the screen... maybe they're moving towards the interactive weather that DirecTV has?

I've watched way less of The Weather Channel over the past few years, but you've got to admit that their severe weather coverage is pretty thorough, if not over the top some times. We get worried here on the coast if Jim Cantore shows up, LOL...
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Offline ncpilot

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Re: Dish Network to drop Weather Channel tonight
« Reply #7 on: May 21, 2010, 08:49:20 AM »
Some interesting tidbits...

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=177592

http://weathernation.net/weather/

From the DBSTalk forum:

"Just turned on channel 213 and the first face I saw was Paul Douglas, the owner of WeatherNation - http://www.weathernation.net/. I think it's safe to assume they're the ones producing the channel. Douglas founded the company a few years ago after being let go by WCCO-TV in Minneapolis due to budget cuts."

Also read that apparently at this time only the SD version of the channel works interactively, not the HD version...
Marc
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Offline IMADreamer

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Re: Dish Network to drop Weather Channel tonight
« Reply #8 on: May 21, 2010, 10:41:05 AM »
I'm reading in some places an agreement might have been reached.  Does that mean we get both stations?
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Offline WeatherHost

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Re: Dish Network to drop Weather Channel tonight
« Reply #9 on: May 21, 2010, 11:17:30 AM »
Appears so for now.  Too bad.  I was hoping for Dish to stick to their guns, but it seems it was about money after all and the programming objections and comments were just a smokescreen.

Even at that, I wonder if TWC took note and might eliminate some of the nonsense.


Offline weatherforyou

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Re: Dish Network to drop Weather Channel tonight
« Reply #10 on: May 21, 2010, 03:38:17 PM »
Some interesting tidbits...

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=177592

http://weathernation.net/weather/

From the DBSTalk forum:

"Just turned on channel 213 and the first face I saw was Paul Douglas, the owner of WeatherNation - http://www.weathernation.net/. I think it's safe to assume they're the ones producing the channel. Douglas founded the company a few years ago after being let go by WCCO-TV in Minneapolis due to budget cuts."

Also read that apparently at this time only the SD version of the channel works interactively, not the HD version...

You are correct.  The same people who now bring you HAMweather, my partner in PWSweather.com.  ;)
Joe Torsitano


Offline weatherforyou

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Re: Dish Network to drop Weather Channel tonight
« Reply #11 on: May 21, 2010, 03:40:53 PM »
Appears so for now.  Too bad.  I was hoping for Dish to stick to their guns, but it seems it was about money after all and the programming objections and comments were just a smokescreen.
Not a smokescreen, but one of the factors that contributed to Dish looking for a change.

I have DirecTV.  Guess I'll have to go over to the mom-in-laws to see this in action.  :D
Joe Torsitano


Offline IMADreamer

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Re: Dish Network to drop Weather Channel tonight
« Reply #12 on: May 21, 2010, 04:35:17 PM »
Just caught a bit of weather cast again at lunch and it's still a couple hours behind.  What's the point in that?  It won't last long with crap like that.
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Offline W Thomas

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Re: Dish Network to drop Weather Channel tonight
« Reply #13 on: May 21, 2010, 05:46:50 PM »
Guess this will just make it more important for us PWS folks to provide a better local coverage of weather.
I haven't checked out the replacement programming but if it is roughly 2 hrs behind the times and probably for some other area than where I am watching from
it don't really sound like anything I would be interested in anyway.. but I'll be unbiased I'll give it a try :-P


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Offline chief-david

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Re: Dish Network to drop Weather Channel tonight
« Reply #14 on: May 21, 2010, 09:04:36 PM »
Paul Douglas started WeatherNation a few years ago.  This is about his third venture at personal weather.
He knows what he is doing.


I know someone that is doing production for them. He has been very busy. 

I hope it is a success.  It gives a little competition.




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Offline weatherforyou

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Re: Dish Network to drop Weather Channel tonight
« Reply #15 on: May 21, 2010, 09:38:37 PM »
Just caught a bit of weather cast again at lunch and it's still a couple hours behind.  What's the point in that?  It won't last long with crap like that.
I just went over to my mother-in-law's to take a look at it.  Was current on her TV.  So I don't know where you're seeing this.  I did notice the past temperatures are only shown for every few hours.  But it was just before 6 and they were showing the Sacramento temperature as reported at 5PM (which would have been the last report issued by the National Weather Service).  Despite what some "accu" places may show, temperatures for every place are not available every minute... except from personal weather stations that update every minute.  ;)

I must say it reminded me a lot of what The Weather Channel used to be... and I liked it.  :D

Strange seeing the same maps used on my web sites on the TV, though.  :D
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Offline chief-david

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Re: Dish Network to drop Weather Channel tonight
« Reply #16 on: May 22, 2010, 08:11:30 AM »
Paul Douglas and weathernation

From the MPLS Startrib

http://www.startribune.com/blogs/Paul_Douglas_on_Weather.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUgOy9cP3DieyckcUsI


Busy day. I know it sounds ridiculous hearing it - sounds even crazier saying it: "We launched a national weather channel late Thursday." Friday was our first full day broadcasting "The Weather Cast" for Dish. Crazy times. What's that old saying, "may you live in interesting times..." Right. The world is changing, media is morphing. I don't - for an instant - pretend to have the answer key. But I do know that the Internet is capable of destroying business models, and simultaneously CREATING new business models. At WeatherNation we are relying on the 'net, high-speed fiber optic pipes to distribute content. We can go live - via the 'net, to anywhere in the world - from Excelsior. No need for expensive satellite uplinks or transponder time. Bandwidth is now sufficient to go live, SD or HD quality. We couldn't have done this 5 years ago, but today the sky is the limit. It's all about connecting the dots differently, taking advantage of technological breakthroughs to create (and distribute) content more cost-effectively, by an order of magnitude, and pass those costs on to the client.

Family Affair. My son, Walt, just graduated from Penn State with a degree in Telecommunications and Business - helping us at WeatherNation with shooting/editing and post production. It's good to have him working with me - diving into the deep end with the rest of us.

All I'll say is this: we have 3 HD studios, 12 meteorologists (many excellent people who were let go from local TV stations because they were too old or too expensive). We have state-of-the-art graphics systems from a company called Baron Services (their Vipir storm tracking tool and new OMNI 3-D graphics system is breathtaking - absolutely the best tools on the planet for tracking and displaying weather). Hands down. The only reason we even have a prayer of competing with the Weather Channel is because we have better story-telling tools, better weather graphics, and better people. Everyone on the air is a certified, professional meteorologist. No "presenters", no "personalities". Everyone at WeatherNation working on Dish's "Weather Cast" has a degree in meteorology. More important: they have a genuine passion for meteorology, and it shows on the air.

Control Room. WeatherNation's "Warroom" where directors monitor the feeds coming out of 3 studios. The computers on the right have 8 different weather "sources", different software packages that help us tell the weather story for our clients, including Dish Network, the Kentucky Weather Channel (CN2) and the Star Tribune.

The only reason we've gotten this far (and I truly have no idea what will happen tomorrow, or even an hour from now) is because I was blessed with extraordinary people: meteorologists, developers, engineers, directors, sales people and support staff - and we're trying new ways to tell the weather story. Back to basics. Meat and potatoes. Give me the weather - no movies, no specials, no network stars. Just give me the weather, give me what I need, then go away. Sometimes simple is better. BTW we are providing all the weather content for a Kentucky Weather Channel, CN2, based in Louisville, Kentucky, 24/7, focused on weather for the Commonwealth of Kentucky. I think this is the future - PC-based systems that generate a continuous stream of weather content, local, regional and national, available on cable set-top boxes, mobile devices - with the ability to tailor information for every consumer, based on their home address or GPS location.

Just as important: the ability to tailor the advertisements, based on WHAT THEY LIKE AND PREFER AS INDIVIDUALS. Don't ram ad-spam down their throats. Give people a voice in the ads that pop up on their TV's, PC's or cell phones. I'd watch Apple ads all day, same for Malibu waterskiing boats, cars, computers, cell phones, gadgets (productivity devices). I'd actually sit up a little straighter in my chair and I might actually CLICK ON THE AD, if it was a product or service I'm actually interested in. Common sense. Don't use behavioral targeting to digitally stalk me, remember my clicks or past web sites I've visited. Forget cookies in browsers. LET ME CHOOSE. It's all going to come back to consumers, empowering....US....to see what we want to see based on our lifestyles and preferences, not what some pencil-neck geek on Madison Avenue THINKS I want to see, based on my "profile."

"Studio B" Our latest, state-of-the art, all-digital weather studio, where we produce live and taped HD segments for multiple clients. That's meteorologist David Neal, who was the #1 meteorologist in Birmingham for 2 decades, an amazing guy, the kind of guy you meet - and immediately like. The local station let him go a few years ago (for being too expensive). Sounds familiar. He's still at the top of his game, and we are very lucky to have him on the WeatherNation team.

Sorry - got carried away. I'm excited - exhausted - terrified - but most of all proud - of my team, our vendors, people like Kory Hartman from Severe Studios and meteorologist Jason Parkin in Des Moines, who was let go from KCCI-TV (but is extraordinary)   (was in my classroom once in Iowa)....developers like Lee Huffman (who created Ham Weather).....our chief tech guru, Mike Huang, my (amazing) business partner, Todd Frostad, who helped to start up Digital River and who is helping me run WeatherNation (although we lost control a long time ago - events seem to be spiraling out of ANYONE'S control) and Mark Schiller, who was my Chief Director at WCCO-TV, (acquaintance of mine-kids used to go to the same school)            also let go during a recent rash of cost-cutting.

Nothing this good happens by accident - it requires amazing people. I'm very lucky, and no matter how this turns out for WeatherNation and me I'm pretty jazzed that a Minnesota company took on the Weather Channel and tried to advance an alternative. Does it need work? Absolutely. But did you see TWC when it launched in 1982? The New York Times called it the "video equivalent of wallpaper." It got better, in a hurry. Not sure where this crazy journey will wind up, but the journey is what's important, not the destination. Hope your journey leads you somewhere memorable and exciting. I hope you look forward to getting up and going to work. If you don't, time for a mid-career adjustment. Life is too short to be miserable...



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Offline SlowModem

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Re: Dish Network to drop Weather Channel tonight
« Reply #17 on: May 22, 2010, 08:25:30 AM »
Great story.  I wish them much luck.  I hope they can get a DirecTV contract, too!
Greg Whitehead
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Offline IMADreamer

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Re: Dish Network to drop Weather Channel tonight
« Reply #18 on: May 22, 2010, 11:59:38 AM »
Just caught a bit of weather cast again at lunch and it's still a couple hours behind.  What's the point in that?  It won't last long with crap like that.
I just went over to my mother-in-law's to take a look at it.  Was current on her TV.  So I don't know where you're seeing this.  I did notice the past temperatures are only shown for every few hours.  But it was just before 6 and they were showing the Sacramento temperature as reported at 5PM (which would have been the last report issued by the National Weather Service).  Despite what some "accu" places may show, temperatures for every place are not available every minute... except from personal weather stations that update every minute.  ;)

I must say it reminded me a lot of what The Weather Channel used to be... and I liked it.  :D

Strange seeing the same maps used on my web sites on the TV, though.  :D


I think it has nothing to do with location and all to do with time of day.  I've caught them four times now giving out warnings that were hours old.  I'm not talking about temperature, I'm talking about the actual meteorologist on the TV in front of a map giving out old info.  Giving out out dated info good way to get someone hurt, and they won't be in business long by doing it.
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Offline Harryca

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Re: Dish Network to drop Weather Channel tonight
« Reply #19 on: May 22, 2010, 06:24:26 PM »
I noticed they were showing old info too.  Today, they were showing advisories and radar as of 10:50 AM when it was already 1:30 PM on the west coast.  That is not good.  They are going to have to do a lot better than that if they really want to compete with TWC which isn't hard to do.

Offline Harryca

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Re: Dish Network to drop Weather Channel tonight
« Reply #20 on: May 24, 2010, 04:24:31 PM »
I see today that The Weather Cast is gone already and TWC is still there.  Dish Network and TWC must have reached a deal at the last minute.  They have a notice on channel 213 that The Weather Cast is no longer available and that they are replacing it with local/region weather information from Dish Network and The Weather Channel.  So, we're still stuck with old reruns and stupid movies.  :-(

Offline weatherforyou

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Re: Dish Network to drop Weather Channel tonight
« Reply #21 on: May 24, 2010, 04:55:57 PM »
The Weather Cast will be providing more of the local forecasts on The Weather Channel's channels.

As for the warnings delay issue... that was a problem with how often a satellite service they were using could distribute some of the videos.

Must say pretty impressive a small company could create that much of an impact on a huge company like The Weather Channel and Universal/NBC.  Just shows that these days it isn't a big company beating a big company, but a better company (no matter how big). :)

Joe Torsitano


Offline WeatherHost

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Re: Dish Network to drop Weather Channel tonight
« Reply #22 on: May 24, 2010, 05:08:14 PM »
Wimps.

I was hoping Charlie would finally show some nads.


Offline WeatherHost

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Re: Dish Network to drop Weather Channel tonight
« Reply #23 on: May 24, 2010, 05:12:45 PM »
Like I said earlier.  It was all a lie.  It was never about programming content, only about money.

What a bunch of scumbags.

Offline W Thomas

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Re: Dish Network to drop Weather Channel tonight
« Reply #24 on: May 24, 2010, 10:18:32 PM »
TWC/NBC must have stepped up to the plate and swung a home run out of the whole deal or something!
I too noticed the message saying that Weather Cast is no  longer available. Fortunately they have other customers than Dish or this would have
been total devastation for them.

Guess it remains to be seen what kind of programming specialization the channel will provide :lol:


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