The Weather Channel up for grabs?

[dixiebreeze]

The Virginian-Pilot
© January 3, 2008
Landmark Communications Inc., parent of The Virginian-Pilot, has hired national investment firms to explore selling the Norfolk-based company, including The Pilot.

“I can confirm that Landmark Communications has retained investment banks JPMorgan and Lehman Brothers to assist in exploring strategic alternatives, including the possible sale of the company’s businesses,” said Richard F. Barry III, vice chairman of the company.

JPMorgan is advising Landmark on the sale of The Weather Channel, one of its largest properties, and Lehman Brothers is advising the company on the sale of its other media assets, Barry said.

He declined to say whether the company would be sold in whole or part, or at all.

“We are exploring strategic alternatives, and that can entail a number of possibilities, one of which is the sale of the company’s businesses,” he said. “It’s very early in the process.”

He also would not say why a decision was made now to explore the sale of the company.

Landmark and The Virginian-Pilot trace their history in Norfolk to 1865. The parent company employs 9,000 nationwide, while The Pilot has about 1,200 employees locally.

Top officials at The Pilot were told Wednesday to attend a meeting this morning, and an announcement was expected shortly thereafter.

Bruce Bradley, publisher of The Pilot and a Landmark employee for 34 years, said, “While I am saddened about this development, I understand and agree with the business reasons for exploring these options.” He also declined to say why the company was being marketed now.

Denis Finley, editor of The Pilot since 2005, said that if sold, he hoped a company with Landmark’s ethics and principles would be the buyer and continue the 143-year-old commitment to local journalism.

The Weather Channel, based in Atlanta, is one of the last privately owned cable channels in the United States, and Landmark has been known in the past to brush aside offers for it. With its Web site weather.com, The Weather Channel and its related properties could bring more than $5 billion, a person close to the sale said.

In an interview with The New York Times in June, Debora J. Wilson, The Weather Channel’s chief executive, said, “Every media conglomeration has approached Landmark, and there’s never been a yes. We actually think that we’re stronger being independent.”

Landmark’s 2006 sales figures were estimated at $1.75 billion, according to Hoover’s, which tracks private companies. Landmark is parent to nine daily newspapers and more than 100 non-daily newspaper and specialty publications.

Besides The Weather Channel, Landmark’s non-newspaper properties include one of the world’s biggest weather data companies, TV stations in Las Vegas and Nashville, Tenn., and Norfolk-based Dominion Enterprises, a national chain of print and online classified-ad publications, which alone represents more than $850 million in revenue.

[Ed Mahmoud]

It'd be nice if they got back to the old routine of actual meteorologists (although a few of the early on-air types like Jeanetta Jones weren't), with expert analysis, and less skiing and home improvement tips and talk show style gab fests.


But keep sending Cantore, and maybe one of the better looking females (Abrams isn't a classic beauty, but is still very easy on the eyes) out to blizzards and hurricanes.


And go back to the NWS forecasts for the local on the 8s. Especially in changing conditions, when 'nowcasts' are called for, TWC forecasts aren't near as good as NWS forecasts.

[Frank2]

Yes, I agree that the Local On The 8's forecast needs improvement - what they need to get rid of are those sounds of rainfall, wind, thunder, etc. that now accompany the local forecast...

I don't think we have become that dumb (though it's possible), that we need to hear reminders what the weather will sound like ("Oh, is that what rain sounds like?").

The other is the unnecessary feature programs, including the one about to begin, which is just more of the same weather footage, under a different package...

Well see what happens, though, perhaps TWC is beginning to reap what they sow when it comes to all of the needless changes over the past 10 years...

[wxman57]

... snip

And go back to the NWS forecasts for the local on the 8s. Especially in changing conditions, when 'nowcasts' are called for, TWC forecasts aren't near as good as NWS forecasts.

The TWC forecasts are made by a "smart" computer program and are based on model guidance. No meteorologists has any input. NWS forecasts are actually made by meteorologists.

Wording in the article like "beachfront property" makes me wonder if the new owner of the channel will even keep the weather format. I suppose the owner could put on whatever programming he/she wants. But then, why mess with a successful format?

[Ed Mahmoud]

... snip

And go back to the NWS forecasts for the local on the 8s. Especially in changing conditions, when 'nowcasts' are called for, TWC forecasts aren't near as good as NWS forecasts.

The TWC forecasts are made by a "smart" computer program and are based on model guidance. No meteorologists has any input. NWS forecasts are actually made by meteorologists.

Wording in the article like "beachfront property" makes me wonder if the new owner of the channel will even keep the weather format. I suppose the owner could put on whatever programming he/she wants. But then, why mess with a successful format?

Our local HGX NWS office seems pretty good to me, and have detailed but understandable forecast discussions that an amateur like myself can appreciate. Plus, as I said, they generate better forecasts than TWC. I guess local knowledge is a good thing.


I live nowhere near there, but NWS BOX up near Boston sometimes have very detailed forecast discussions.

[Beam]

If I had the bank I'd buy TWC and change it back to the excellent, concise, informative format it had back in the late 80s and early 90s. If I had even more money I'd have John Hope cloned. Alas, I'm lower middle class.

Maybe if I ask Bill Gates and Donald Trump REALLY nicely...

[dixiebreeze]

I remember TWC fondly in the 1980s and early 90s'.
Now I almost never go there for real weather information. It IS the place to go for continuous commercials and pre-packaged stories -- which you can get anywhere.

[Frank2]

Yes, I agree - I really loved the TWC of the late '80s early '90s, or, as the slogan use to be...

"Now your local forecast, accurate and dependable, on The Weather Channel"...

Today's TWC really is very plastic - I call it the "Hotel Weather Channel", since they give so much time to airports, ski resorts, South Beach (Miami Beach), etc., and, very little time to actually talking about the weather for everyone at home...

Usually, I go back and forth, between NBCWP and TWC - watching both sometimes will give me enough weather information - if that fails, I turn on what I listened to years before either of them existed - NOAA Weather Radio...

I don't think they'll be many changes if someone else purchases them (perhaps one of the corporations that already own one of the big three networks is a possible potential buyer), but, it's possible that TWC might undergo some major changes if that happens - we'll see...

[mitchell]

if that fails, I turn on what I listened to years before either of them existed - NOAA Weather Radio...

...

or "all hazards radio" or whatever they're calling it these days. Even they've diversified! Remember when NOAA weather radio had "nowcasts" where they came on and explained what was happening at the moment, and for the next hour or two...where thunderstorm cells were moving etc? automation sure killed that.

[Ed Mahmoud]

if that fails, I turn on what I listened to years before either of them existed - NOAA Weather Radio...

...

or "all hazards radio" or whatever they're calling it these days. Even they've diversified! Remember when NOAA weather radio had "nowcasts" where they came on and explained what was happening at the moment, and for the next hour or two...where thunderstorm cells were moving etc? automation sure killed that.

I haven't had a NOAA radio in a couple of years. Does the new automated system still sound like a drunken German?

[jasons2k]

It would be nice to see TWC go back to focusing on the weather-at-hand and provide reliable analysis again.

Re: Weather Radio: I got my first one in 1984 or 1985 back when Savannah, GA still had a NWS office. One of the things I looked forward to most was the "Radar Summary". How times have changed....

[tolakram]

Honestly I think they are selling the weather channel because it's at its peak. You have limited long term viewers so you have to cram as many commercials in as you can, and the alternative choices for getting up to date weather information are only growing. I really don't see how the business model can survive.

Good old fashion weather reporting and analysis isn't going to draw big enough numbers to be profitable, in my opinion. Too bad.

[Frank2]

That's a good point - the TWC way of reporting weather dates back to over 25 years ago (from what I recall, John Hope first mentioned TWC in late 1981 or early 1982), so, now many have so many different methods of obtaining weather information, that the concept of sitting in front of the television to watch a weather forecaster is considered old-fashioned.

Still, TWC and others have realized that, and, that's the reason they have several other ways of getting their products. Still, the TWC as many of us have come to know it for over 25 years very possibly might pass into history - we'll see...

P.S. That's why NOAA Weather Radio has also diminished in popularity (except for those in tornado alley, who do depend on it in a big way) - NWR dates back to the 1960's, so, again, the concept of sitting in front of the radio, as the television, has become outdated (sadly)...

P.P.S. In reference to the earlier comment, NWR has resolved the electronic voice complaints of a few years ago - now it sounds reasonably good at all times. My only complaint is that the loop takes forever to run - too much information is being fed into the NWR system, so, it just runs on and on - if there is any sort of severe weather issue (this week's cold snap, for example), the Special Weather Statements (which are often longer than my posts) take forever to run - sometimes as much as 10 or 15 minutes...

[Squarethecircle]

I was not there when the weather channel was young.

I am, however, here now. When they are trying to explain things to viewers who don't understand it sounds horrid to both, and the whole thing seems more of an enterprise now than a weather channel. It has gone the way of MTV - instead of its original purpose, it's full of things that are at least the slightest bit tangent.

[mitchell]

My only complaint is that the loop takes forever to run - too much information is being fed into the NWR system, so, it just runs on and on - if there is any sort of severe weather issue (this week's cold snap, for example), the Special Weather Statements (which are often longer than my posts) take forever to run - sometimes as much as 10 or 15 minutes...

RIGHT! and they seem to find the longest possible way to announce the special weather statements...like if the special weather statement is a frost advisory or coastal flood warning they run the exact same warning four times saying exactly the same thing since there are four counties in the service area.

[Ed Mahmoud]

I miss Jim Cantore actually being a regular on air met, and going into detail explaining things.


I think a 24/7 all weather channel that doesn't insult the viewers intelligence would still attract viewers.

[Frank2]

I was tempted to start a new topic on the "Off-Topic" board, but...

TWC DID IT AGAIN LAST NIGHT!

Several states were in the middle of a major tornado outbreak, but, what did TWC air, not once, but, three times during the crisis?

Their "new" program, "When Weather Made History" - with all due respect to the Challenger crew (last night's episode), there is no sensible reason that 3 hours of air time needed to be devoted to this program last evening (between 9 p.m. and 2 a.m. ET), especially when in the middle of a severe weather outbreak...

Apparently, the wrong people are in charge at TWC, and, I get the impression that morale among the TWC OCM's is at an all-time low...

[Dionne]

We stopped watching TWC when we switched to DirecTV and lost the local on the 8's radar. I have tuned in during severe weather events, but got tired of the incessant commercials. There is more info here at S2K than TWC.

[jinftl]

With people now getting instant weather reports on cell phones and through the internet, the concept of waiting for the 'local on the 8's' is becoming archaic and obsolete.

[dtrain44]

I don't think the genre is obsolete - TV will be around for a long, long time, and people who are casually interested in the weather are still going to watch TWC. I think the genre is challenged enough that it requires good programming, and I don't think this human interest stuff is going to get the job done. I see the same thing happening at ESPN: I firmly believe that more people would watch a well promoted, well done "Edge NFL Matchup" than would be interested in "Who's Now?"

Most viewers are dumb, but the nature of a niche channel is to appeal to those who aren't. It makes as much sense for the Weather Channel in 2010 to be showing their Challenger shows as for the New York Times to start running pornography.