This pretty well sums up why:
DirecTV: Received "numerous" complaints 40 percent of @weatherchannel programming reality TV: http://t.co/dQ4t8qZX7g
— Capital Weather Gang (@capitalweather) January 11, 2014
That, the constant drum of global warming hype, and the ridiculous naming of winter storms combined with an advertising heavy schedule pretty much drives away most reasonable thinking people.
My friends, John Coleman and Joe D’Aleo, co-founders of the Weather Channel never set it up to be that way, but over the years, it lost its way from their original vision.
See my interview with both of them here on the 30th anniversary.
Now what do I watch on DirecTV? The new far better replacement, WeatherNation TV on channel 361, which is close to the vision of the original TWC founders Coleman and D’Aleo.
Of course, TWC isn’t taking this lying down, they’ve started a Twitter war.
DIRECTV doesn't know the cost of dropping The Weather Channel, but you do. Take action: http://t.co/lNvwjyPSqf pic.twitter.com/HmH21yOehv
— The Weather Channel (@weatherchannel) January 11, 2014
The third comment is telling.
http://twitter.com/cshenkel/status/421992414744559618
As is this one:
@weatherchannel way to use human suffering to prove your point.
— Todd Amerman (@Paytodd1) January 11, 2014
@weatherchannel You clowns going to give this storm a stupid marketing name too?
— Young Ideas (@DickYoungsGhost) January 11, 2014
But alas, all this looks to be nothing more than saber rattling in contract negotiations.
http://twitter.com/DIRECTVService/status/422036228569968640
UPDATE:
DirecTV issued the following statement to the Washington Post:
We remain in discussions with The Weather Channel on how to provide its service to our customers at the best value since people now use so many other ways to retrieve weather-related information. We launched WeatherNation (DIRECTV channel 361) as an alternative to provide 24/7 hard news weather coverage in response to numerous customer complaints that more than 40 percent of The Weather Channel’s programming is dedicated to reality television shows. DIRECTV also offers city-by-city weather coverage on more than 1,400 local broadcast stations and on DIRECTV’s emergency channels in times of severe weather.
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I’m a student, not a teacher.
I’m Jane Doe’s sister. I’m also a student. It’s our parents who are teachers.
And our parents are not science teachers. Our mom teaches English/literature and our dad teaches Algebra.
My sister and I end this conversation by stating that we agree to disagree that “lies” are being taught in the US public school system.
I agree with one of the responders the weather channel is going further and further away from “real” weather reporting and more to this silly concocted “global warming”, ” climate change” and “polar vortex” myths. If you want to be pro-antipollution and pro-environment I get it as you see it. Its just the idea of men and women who know carbon dioxide is normal and that plant life uses it and makes oxygen yet has gotten totally sold out by this anti-growth socialist money grab that irks everyone. Climate Change farce is about one thing taxing Americans for some myth in which the Earth has endlessly gone through cooling and warming cycles for ions and now saying this particular cycle is humans fault. When it started to cool in the late 90’s suddenly this farce turned from global warming to climate change because the weather wasn’t cooperating at the time. Learn the History channel’s lesson, just report Weather, period!!!!. They learned people weren’t interested in “The Revisionist History Channel” but “The History Channel”. Stop trying to impress your leftist buddies and just report the weather. Stop trying to morph the terms when conditions don’t cooperate, stop coming up with fancy new slogans to describe weather.
Pragmatic Progressive:
As with most modern socialists, and lets face it that’s what the modern democratic party has become. You have to state you’re always for different points of view. Its the pragmatic part of your title that isn’t true. These Democratic Socialists as they also call themselves don’t mind a point of view as long as the opposing point of view is well into the minority. The thing that always puzzles me about your support is even when the numbers don’t support your conclusions you still never say there is speculation as to the results. When the science is loaded with individuals compensated for their conclusions never is the result brought into question. Global warming is the tip of the iceberg with many socialist stances, take Obamacare. Its not meeting what the President said it would and we even found out he knew that from the beginning never once do the communists back away no they double down. Scientists could lying; they still stick with the plastic banana findings. It just irritates modern socialists that we’re not going down the road to their cap & trade law willingly. Its all about taxes and money. Funny how the movement and political philosophy that talks endlessly about people being greedy, seems so interested in reaching into every American’s pocket for their latest and greatest do-good scheme to rob us once again.
TWC does have programming other than constant wx. However, their shows do have a common thread. WEATHER. This is a trusted wx source. Why try to fix what isn’t broken? I travel a lot for work. Before I leave, guess what I watch…TWC. When I get to my hotel room, guess what the first is channel I turn to…TWC. I want to see Jim Cantore hanging sideways from a stop sign yelling into a mic that I need to evacuate! He has done so on so many occasions. TWC keeps people safe. What’s wrong with a few WEATHER related “reality shows” when breaking wx news is IMMEDIATELY expedited. As a licensed FAA pilot and soon to be USCG licensed boat captain, I value the forecasts of the professional meteorologists from TWC. DirecTV is wrong to listen to people to whom wx doesn’t matter.
I used to watch but now its just NBC propaganda about climate change and stupid shows. By the way its odd to see them begging Direct TV customers to keep Weather Channel. Its kind of creepy.
[snip – no fan of the weather channel, but this is crazy talk – Anthony]
I really can’t believe all the folks out there in DirectTV land that would actually switch providers just because of the weather channel. I don’t buy it. In the past, I do remember when the weather channel was a true weather provider without all the needless sensationalism and other programming that we get from them today. Now, I can recall numerous occasions upon turning to TWC just to find that they airing some 1/2hr to 1hr long documentary and NOT the current weather that I want or need.
Weather Channel is now owned by the NBS and is using it to push their political gain on global warming/climate change. When nBS took over the show, everything changed to an msnBS format of enamoring the current president to god-like status, and he along with Al Gore were going to save the nation & world. Weather Nation is the way!