The Weather Channel Celebrates 25th Anniversary

The 24-hour weather network, The Weather Channel, will celebrate its 25th anniversary on Wednesday, May 2, with two weeks of special programming beginning April 28. The all-weather network, which first went live on May 2, 1982, is owned by Landmark Communications. Frank Batten Sr., former Landmark chairman, launched the The Weather Channel from the National Cable TV Show in Las Vegas, stating “this was the start of something that will never end.” Today, The Weather Channel reaches almost 93 million homes in the U.S. and 30 million unique users monthly on weather.com.

“In the early days of cable, some companies offered weather programming by pointing a camera at a thermometer and barometer. Obviously, we have come a long, long way from that, but originally the idea of offering weather 24-hours a day seemed daring to many at the time,” said Debora Wilson, president of The Weather Channel Companies. “Over the past 25 years, we’ve distinguished ourselves as the leader — the most trusted and expert source of weather information and expanded on many different platforms. Our viewers, advertisers, customers and distributors have all played an important role in shaping The Weather Channel we know today and we are very grateful for their continued support.”

From Saturday, April 28 through Friday, May 4, The Weather Channel will present special programming related to the 25th anniversary including: reflections by off-camera meteorologists and how forecasting and technology have evolved over the last 25 years, amusing “bloopers” and original Weather Channel video of milestones such as the first minute on the air and the first on-air live shot during Hurricane Gilbert in Texas in 1988.

In the week leading up to the network’s celebratory programming, The Weather Channel will air a spot titled “Celebrating 25 Years of Great Weather,” along with vintage promotions from the past including “Painted Faces,” a finalist in last year’s CTAM Hall of Fame.

Additionally, the anniversary programming will reflect on some of the many significant weather events that have occurred during The Weather Channel’s tenure. These events will be recounted through actual on-air footage and dramatic portrayals of weather events taken from the network’s most-recent programming series, 100 Biggest Weather Moments.

All week, Stephanie Abrams and Mike Bettes, co-hosts of the nightly program Abrams & Bettes — Beyond the Forecast, are inviting viewers to share their own videos, photos or emails about their own biggest weather moments at: weather.com/ab. Prizes will be awarded for submissions that are used on-air.

A dedicated anniversary site, weather.com/25years, will also provide users with video content of critical weather events throughout the network’s history, vintage footage, bloopers and classic ad campaigns.

Award-Winning Original Programming

Over the years, The Weather Channel has been recognized for its quality programming. Most recently, the network’s series Storm Stories and It Could Happen Tomorrow, were the recipients of four Telly Awards, which honor outstanding local, regional and cable TV programs and commercials.

The Weather Channel has also received awards from such organizations as Global Green for new programs including, The Climate Code with Dr. Heidi Cullen, Alaska Meltdown and Epic Conditions, the first long-form program to be filmed in HD. Storm Stories was also a recipient of a Gold World Medal by the New York Festivals for the episode, “Storm Stories: Semester At Sea Storm”

Weather.com/Multiplatform

In the past 25 years, The Weather Channel has also evolved by embracing new technologies, which has enabled it to expand on many different platforms. The Weather Channel Interactive, which includes weather.com, distributes weather software applications, podcasts, desktop applications, RSS feeds, toolbars, and screensavers. Weather.com, the network’s Web site, launched in 1995, ranks among the top 15 most popular Web sites, reaching more than 30 million unique visitors per month. The Weather Channel Mobile, which produces text, graphical and video weather content for mobile devices in all formats and distributes to all top U.S. wireless carriers, is one of the top five most actively used mobile information services, reaching nearly four million mobile users monthly.

Future Initiatives

This September will mark yet another milestone for The Weather Channel, as it launches its programming in the new high definition format. The company will break ground for their new HD studio adjoining its existing headquarters in Atlanta. The Weather Channel is the only cable TV network to build a new studio dedicated exclusively to the presentation of HD. It will also be innovative in creating new systems, infrastructures, and operations for weather presentation that doesn’t exist today.

About The Weather Channel

The Weather Channel, a 24-hour weather network, is seen in nearly 93 million U.S. households. Its Web site, weather.com, reaches more than 30 million unique users per month. It content is generally ranked within the 15 most popular in the U.S. by Nielsen//Net Ratings. The Weather Channel also operates Weatherscan, a 24-hour, all-local weather network available in 22 million households, The Weather Channel Radio Network, The Weather Channel Newspaper Services, and is the leading weather information provider for emerging technologies. This includes broadband and interactive television applications, with wireless weather products accessible through high-speed Internet services, phones, pagers, and personal digital assistants. The Weather Channel is owned by Landmark Communications, Inc., a Norfolk, VA-based, privately held media company.

MILESTONES AT THE WEATHER CHANNEL

1981-82 — Despite naysayers, Frank Batten, Sr., gives the go-ahead for The Weather Channel, which launches May 2, 1982 amid much fanfare.

1983 (9.4 million households) — Some are ready to pull the plug. But the company makes some hard decisions to stay on the air; dramatic progress is made a year later with a 44 percent increase in subscribers.

1986 (25 million households) — The Weather Channel upgrades talent, adopts the anchor concept and adds more video footage.

1987 (27.2 million households) — The Weather Channel produces its first one-hour special.

1988 (37 million households) — The Weather Channel commits to breaking news, covering the drought and Hurricane Gilbert.

1991 (50.3 million households) — The Weather Channel wins Golden CableACE from the National Academy of Cable Programming for coverage of Hurricane Hugo.

1995 — weather.com launches; continuous growth in broadband activities with launch of first wireless weather content three years later.

1999 (73 million households) — During coverage of the first storm of 1999, TWC achieves its largest single day audience delivery ever of one million households.

2001 (80 million households) — The Weather Channel continues new programming StormWeek series, which sets ratings record during non-severe weather.

2002 (85 million households) — The Weather Channel is honored with a Beacon Award in the media category for its Rays Awareness sun safety campaign.

2003 (over 85 million households) — Launch of first-ever primetime series, Storm Stories.

2005 (over 89 million households) — TWC sets new record with total day rating of 2.2 during Katrina coverage.

2006 (nearly 90 million households) — Launch of new series, It Could Happen Tomorrow, which sustained ratings increases averaging 53 percent for its time period compared to the year before, other new program launches include: nightly series Abrams & Bettes — Beyond the Forecast; and TV’s only weekly climate change program, Forecast Earth with Dr. Heidi Cullen.

2007 (nearly 93 million households) — Plans under way for a High Definition transmission with construction of new HD studio, where all live programming will originate.