Weather Channel Dropping The Entertainment

In case you had not heard the news or you are totally immersed in the entertainment fare that The Weather Channel has been providing, brace yourselves.

The Weather Channel is deciding to go back to more weather less original programming, hoping that their focus on weather will keep them on track. They feel that weather expertise is more valuable than the entertaining original content they were producing.

To be honest, I bet they went to creating original content to help with ratings and if they go back to the tried and true format of just weather, that may not be in their best interest in the long run.

But considering the "long run," word on the street is that the entity that owns TWC is looking to possibly sell it, with the digital operations holding more value than the TV network.

As the letter to employees starts out with an interesting and telling side to the world of television marketing, as it reads:

"As you know, we are facing unprecedented challenges in the subscription television business. Cord-cutting, skinny bundles, and new over-the-top (OTT) providers are changing the way people watch television. I joined this team because I believe The Weather Channel is essential in this new environment, and I am even more convinced of that now."


Wow... so cord-cutting is actually having an impact. I was not sure that people backing off of live television and cable could have that much of an impact, but there you have it. Someone citing cord-cutting as one reason for their changes.

Then they say about dropping the original content:

"Focusing on these sources of value also means that we need to reduce our investment in areas that are not unique to The Weather Channel. Specifically, this means reducing original non-weather entertainment programming. It also means tightening our weather focus in the mornings even further."

The summarize their changes with this set of bullets:

"Migrate Away from Non-Weather Original Programming.
Refocus Entire Morning to Only Weather.
Prioritize Weather Expertise Over Production.
Market and Program to our Loyal Core Audience.
Streamline HR, Finance, and Communications Support."

You can see it all over on Deadline, who provided a terse version of their memo to staff, deadline.com  .


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