Fox’s New Channel Changes the Climate for Weather TV - The ...
['
Weather
', 'is
', 'taking
', 'the
', 'media
', 'industry
', 'by
', 'storm.
', 'Later
', 'this
', 'year,
', 'Rupert
', 'Murdoch
', 'is
', 'set
', 'to
', 'debut
', 'Fox
', 'Weather,
', 'a
', '24-hour
', 'streaming
', 'channel
', 'that
', 'promises
', 'to
', 'do
', 'for
', 'seven-day
', 'forecasts
', 'what
', 'Fox
', 'has
', 'done
', 'for
', 'American
', 'politics,
', 'financial
', 'news
', 'and
', 'sports.
', 'Not
', 'to
', 'be
', 'outdone,
', 'the
', 'Weather
', 'Channel
', '—
', 'granddaddy
', 'of
', 'television
', 'meteorology
', '—
', 'announced
', 'the
', 'creation
', 'of
', 'a
', 'new
', 'streaming
', 'service,
', 'Weather
', 'Channel
', 'Plus,
', 'that
', 'the
', 'company
', 'believes
', 'could
', 'reach
', '30
', 'million
', 'subscribers
', 'by
', '2026.
', 'Amid
', 'a
', 'waning
', 'appetite
', 'for
', 'political
', 'news
', 'in
', 'the
', 'post-Trump
', 'era,
', 'media
', 'executives
', 'are
', 'realizing
', 'that
', 'demand
', 'for
', 'weather
', 'updates
', 'is
', 'ubiquitous
', '—
', 'and
', 'for
', 'an
', 'increasing
', 'swath
', 'of
', 'the
', 'country,
', 'a
', 'matter
', 'of
', 'urgent
', 'concern.
', 'In
', 'the
', 'past
', 'week
', 'alone,
', 'temperatures
', 'in
', 'the
', 'Pacific
', 'Northwest
', 'broke
', 'records
', ',
', 'wildfires
', 'burned
', 'in
', 'Colorado
', 'and
', 'Tropical
', 'Storm
', 'Elsa
', 'strengthened
', 'into
', 'a
', 'hurricane
', 'over
', 'the
', 'Atlantic
', 'Ocean.
', 'At
', 'CNN,
', 'MSNBC
', 'and
', 'Fox
', 'News
', ',
', 'average
', 'viewership
', 'for
', 'the
', 'first
', 'half
', 'of
', '2021
', 'fell
', '38
', 'percent
', 'from
', 'a
', 'year
', 'prior.
', 'The
', 'audience
', 'for
', 'the
', 'Weather
', 'Channel
', 'was
', 'up
', '7
', 'percent.
', '“All
', 'the
', 'networks
', 'are
', 'ramping
', 'up
', 'for
', 'this,”
', 'said
', 'Jay
', 'Sures,
', 'a
', 'co-president
', 'of
', 'United
', 'Talent
', 'Agency
', 'who
', 'oversees
', 'its
', 'TV
', 'division.
', '“It
', 'doesn’t
', 'take
', 'a
', 'rocket
', 'scientist
', 'to
', 'figure
', 'out
', 'that
', 'climate
', 'change
', 'and
', 'the
', 'environment
', 'will
', 'be
', 'the
', 'story
', 'of
', 'the
', 'next
', 'decade.”
', 'One
', 'of
', 'his
', 'firm’s
', 'clients,
', 'Ginger
', 'Zee,
', 'the
', 'chief
', 'meteorologist
', 'at
', 'ABC
', 'News,
', 'now
', 'has
', '2.2
', 'million
', 'followers
', '—
', 'more
', 'than
', 'any
', 'ABC
', 'News
', 'personality
', 'besides
', 'George
', 'Stephanopoulos.
', 'Fox
', 'Weather’s
', 'impending
', 'debut
', 'opens
', 'a
', 'new
', 'front
', 'in
', 'the
', 'media
', 'wars,
', 'but
', 'Byron
', 'Allen,
', 'the
', 'comedian-turned-media-baron
', 'whose
', 'Allen
', 'Media
', 'Group
', 'bought
', 'the
', 'Weather
', 'Channel
', 'for
', '$300
', 'million
', 'in
', '2018,
', 'insists
', 'that
', 'he
', 'welcomes
', 'the
', 'competition.
', '“Rupert
', 'Murdoch
', 'is
', 'very
', 'smart;
', 'he
', 'is
', 'the
', 'best
', 'of
', 'the
', 'best,”
', 'Mr.
', 'Allen
', 'said
', 'in
', 'an
', 'interview.
', '“I
', 'am
', 'not
', 'surprised
', 'he’s
', 'coming
', 'into
', 'the
', 'weather
', 'space.
', 'Honestly,
', 'I
', 'would
', 'have
', 'been
', 'disappointed
', 'if
', 'he
', 'didn’t.”
', 'Mr.
', 'Allen
', 'said
', 'that
', 'he
', 'and
', 'Mr.
', 'Murdoch
', 'recently
', 'met
', 'for
', 'an
', 'hour
', 'in
', 'the
', 'latter
', 'mogul’s
', 'office
', 'on
', 'the
', 'Fox
', 'lot
', 'in
', 'Los
', 'Angeles.
', '“We
', 'had
', 'a
', 'great
', 'time
', 'together,”
', 'he
', 'recalled.
', '“Now
', 'the
', 'world
', 'will
', 'understand
', 'how
', 'big
', 'of
', 'a
', 'business
', 'the
', 'weather
', 'business
', 'is
', 'and
', 'how
', 'important
', 'it
', 'is.”
', '(A
', 'spokeswoman
', 'for
', 'Mr.
', 'Murdoch
', 'did
', 'not
', 'comment
', 'on
', 'the
', 'meeting.)
', 'The
', 'weather
', 'media
', 'ecosystem
', '—
', 'from
', 'iPhone
', 'apps
', 'to
', 'localized
', 'subscription
', 'sites
', 'and
', 'umbrella-toting
', 'personalities
', 'on
', 'the
', 'local
', '10
', 'o’clock
', 'news
', '—
', 'is
', 'a
', 'lucrative,
', 'if
', 'often
', 'overlooked,
', 'corner
', 'of
', 'the
', 'industry,
', 'where
', 'the
', 'battle
', 'for
', 'attention
', 'is
', 'increasingly
', 'fierce.
', 'Advertisers
', 'weary
', 'of
', 'the
', 'choppy
', 'politics
', 'and
', 'brand
', 'boycotts
', 'of
', 'the
', 'Trump
', 'years
', 'see
', 'weather
', 'as
', 'a
', 'relatively
', 'uncontroversial
', 'port
', 'in
', 'the
', 'squall.
', '“Everyone
', 'in
', 'media
', 'is
', 'trying
', 'to
', 'figure
', 'out
', 'habitual
', 'behavior;
', 'everyone
', 'wants
', 'you
', 'addicted,”
', 'said
', 'Rich
', 'Greenfield,
', 'a
', 'partner
', 'at
', 'LightShed
', 'Ventures
', 'and
', 'a
', 'veteran
', 'media
', 'analyst.
', '“The
', 'reason
', 'why
', 'weather
', 'is
', 'so
', 'interesting
', 'to
', 'so
', 'many
', 'people
', 'is
', 'it’s
', 'something
', 'you
', 'actually
', 'open
', 'up
', 'every
', 'day
', '—
', 'daily,
', 'hourly,
', 'if
', 'not
', 'minute
', 'by
', 'minute.”
', 'Much
', 'of
', 'the
', 'recent
', 'flurry
', 'of
', 'activity
', 'is
', 'motivated
', 'by
', 'the
', 'weather
', 'world’s
', 'big
', 'new
', 'interloper:
', 'Fox,
', 'whose
', 'unlikely
', 'entry
', 'into
', '24/7
', 'weather
', 'broadcasting
', 'is
', 'part
', 'of
', 'a
', 'digital
', 'push
', 'by
', 'the
', 'Murdoch
', 'family.
', 'Sean
', 'Hannity
', 'will
', 'not
', 'be
', 'giving
', 'a
', 'forecast
', '(yet).
', 'But
', 'Fox
', 'Weather,
', 'which
', 'will
', 'be
', 'funded
', 'by
', 'advertisers,
', 'is
', 'aggressively
', 'poaching
', 'star
', 'meteorologists
', 'from
', 'Houston,
', 'Seattle,
', 'St.
', 'Louis
', 'and
', 'other
', 'markets.
', 'It
', 'is
', 'also
', 'taking
', 'a
', 'run
', 'at
', 'major
', 'talent
', 'at
', 'the
', 'Weather
', 'Channel,
', 'with
', 'several
', 'Hollywood
', 'agents
', 'recounting
', 'frenzied
', 'bidding
', 'wars.
', 'A
', 'top
', 'Weather
', 'Channel
', 'meteorologist
', '—
', 'Shane
', 'Brown,
', 'whose
', 'title
', 'was
', '“senior
', 'weather
', 'product
', 'architect”
', '—
', 'defected
', 'to
', 'Fox
', 'last
', 'month
', 'despite
', 'efforts
', 'to
', 'keep
', 'him.
', 'Inside
', 'Mr.
', 'Murdoch’s
', 'company,
', 'the
', 'view
', 'is
', 'that
', 'the
', 'sometimes-staid
', 'world
', 'of
', 'weather
', 'TV
', 'is
', 'ripe
', 'for
', 'disruption.
', 'Fox
', 'is
', 'hiring
', 'a
', 'throng
', 'of
', 'meteorologists
', '
and
', 'weather
', 'data
', 'analysts
', 'for
', 'the
', 'venture,
', 'which
', 'includes
', 'a
', 'flashy
', 'multimillion-dollar
', 'studio
', 'at
', 'its
', 'Midtown
', 'Manhattan
', 'headquarters.
', 'The
', 'service
', 'will
', 'cover
', 'major
', 'national
', 'weather
', 'events
', 'and
', 'integrate
', 'dozens
', 'of
', 'local
', 'forecasters
', 'from
', 'Fox’s
', 'regional
', 'affiliate
', 'stations.
', 'The
', 'Weather
', 'Channel
', 'is
', 'already
', 'throwing
', 'some
', 'shade.
', '“They
', 'couldn’t
', 'even
', 'get
', 'a
', 'headline
', 'right
', 'about
', 'Tropical
', 'Storm
', 'Bill,”
', 'said
', 'Nora
', 'Zimmett,
', 'the
', 'network’s
', 'chief
', 'content
', 'officer,
', 'referring
', 'to
', 'a
', 'FoxNews.com
', 'article
', 'that
', 'some
', 'meteorologists
', 'criticized
', 'because
', 'it
', 'claimed
', 'that
', 'a
', 'relatively
', 'benign
', 'storm
', 'posed
', 'a
', '“massive”
', 'risk
', 'to
', 'the
', 'Eastern
', 'Seaboard.
', '“I
', 'applaud
', 'Fox
', 'getting
', 'into
', 'the
', 'weather
', 'space,
', 'but
', 'they
', 'should
', 'certainly
', 'leave
', 'the
', 'lifesaving
', 'information
', 'to
', 'the
', 'experts,”
', 'said
', 'Ms.
', 'Zimmett,
', 'who
', 'worked
', 'at
', 'Fox
', 'News
', 'in
', 'the
', '2000s.
', 'She
', 'called
', 'climate
', 'change
', '“a
', 'topic
', 'that
', 'is
', 'too
', 'important
', 'to
', 'politicize,
', 'and
', 'if
', 'they
', 'do
', 'that,
', 'they
', 'will
', 'be
', 'doing
', 'Americans
', 'a
', 'disservice.”
', 'A
', 'Fox
', 'Weather
', 'spokeswoman
', 'shot
', 'back:
', '“While
', 'the
', 'Weather
', 'Channel
', 'is
', 'focused
', 'on
', 'trolling
', 'FoxNews.com
', 'for
', 'unrelated
', 'stories,
', 'Fox
', 'Weather
', 'is
', 'busy
', 'preparing
', 'the
', 'debut
', 'of
', 'our
', 'innovative
', 'platform
', 'to
', 'deliver
', 'critical
', 'coverage
', 'to
', 'an
', 'incredibly
', 'underserved
', 'market.”
', 'Climate
', 'change
', 'is
', 'a
', 'broad-based
', 'concern.
', 'A
', 'Pew
', 'Research
', 'survey
', 'in
', 'April
', 'found
', 'that
', '59
', 'percent
', 'of
', 'Republicans
', 'and
', 'Republican-leaning
', 'independents
', 'believed
', 'that
', 'human
', 'activity
', 'contributes
', 'to
', 'climate
', 'change.
', '(The
', 'figure
', 'is
', '91
', 'percent
', 'for
', 'Democrats
', 'and
', 'those
', 'with
', 'Democratic-leaning
', 'views.)
', 'Still,
', 'some
', 'of
', 'Fox
', 'News’s
', 'conservative
', 'commentators,
', 'including
', 'Laura
', 'Ingraham
', 'and
', 'Tucker
', 'Carlson
', ',
', 'have
', 'a
', 'track
', 'record
', 'of
', 'downplaying,
', 'if
', 'not
', 'denying,
', 'the
', 'threat
', 'of
', 'climate
', 'change.
', 'The
', 'subject
', 'has
', 'even
', 'generated
', 'division
', 'within
', 'the
', 'Murdoch
', 'family:
', 'James
', 'Murdoch,
', 'Rupert
', 'Murdoch’s
', 'younger
', 'son,
', 'rebuked
', 'his
', 'father
', 'last
', 'year
', 'after
', 'Murdoch-owned
', 'media
', 'outlets
', 'in
', 'Australia
', 'dismissed
', 'climate
', 'change
', 'as
', 'a
', 'culprit
', 'for
', 'deadly
', 'wildfires
', 'that
', 'ravaged
', 'the
', 'country
', '.
', 'Brian
', 'Wieser,
', 'the
', 'lead
', 'analyst
', 'at
', 'GroupM,
', 'the
', 'media
', 'investing
', 'arm
', 'of
', 'the
', 'ad
', 'giant
', 'WPP,
', 'laughed
', 'at
', 'the
', 'notion
', 'that
', 'weather
', 'could
', 'be
', 'considered
', 'apolitical.
', '“You
', 'would
', 'think
', '—
', 'except
', 'I’m
', 'sitting
', 'here
', 'in
', 'Portland,
', 'Ore.,
', 'in
', '115
', 'degrees,”
', 'he
', 'said.
', '“I
', 'don’t
', 'know
', 'that
', 'it’s
', 'an
', 'uncontroversial
', 'topic.”
', 'Referring
', 'to
', 'Fox
', 'Weather,
', 'he
', 'added:
', '“How
', 'do
', 'you
', 'address
', 'the
', 'fact
', 'that
', 'weather
', 'changes
', 'are
', 'caused
', 'to
', 'some
', 'degree
', 'by
', 'humans
', 'when
', 'you
', 'have
', 'a
', 'media
', 'property
', 'with
', 'a
', 'history
', 'of
', 'challenging
', 'that
', 'fact?”
', 'Fox
', 'Weather
', 'will
', 'be
', 'overseen
', 'by
', 'Suzanne
', 'Scott
', ',
', 'the
', 'chief
', 'executive
', 'of
', 'Fox
', 'News
', 'Media,
', 'and
', 'Sharri
', 'Berg
', ',
', 'a
', 'longtime
', 'Fox
', 'executive
', 'who
', 'helped
', 'launch
', 'Fox
', 'News
', 'at
', 'its
', 'inception
', 'in
', '1996.
', 'Fox
', 'declined
', 'to
', 'make
', 'either
', 'executive
', 'available
', 'for
', 'interviews.
', 'But
', 'its
', 'spokeswoman
', 'said
', 'the
', 'service
', 'would
', 'have
', '“a
', 'dedicated
', 'team
', 'of
', 'leading
', 'meteorologists
', 'and
', 'experts”
', 'that
', 'would
', 'offer
', '“in-depth
', 'reporting
', 'surrounding
', 'all
', 'weather
', 'conditions,
', 'and
', 'we
', 'are
', 'excited
', 'to
', 'showcase
', 'to
', 'viewers
', 'what
', 'a
', 'full-service
', 'comprehensive
', 'weather
', 'platform
', 'can
', 'deliver
', 'beginning
', 'this
', 'fall.”
', 'The
', 'Weather
', 'Channel,
', 'which
', 'started
', 'broadcasting
', 'in
', '1982,
', 'has
', 'some
', 'reason
', 'to
', 'be
', 'nervous.
', 'Cord-cutting
', 'has
', 'eroded
', 'the
', 'audience
', 'for
', 'cable
', 'TV
', 'as
', 'viewers
', 'migrate
', 'to
', 'digital
', 'platforms.
', 'Last
', 'month,
', 'the
', 'Weather
', 'Channel
', 'revamped
', 'its
', 'morning
', 'programming
', 'to
', 'focus
', 'more
', 'on
', 'storytelling
', 'and
', 'forecasters’
', 'personalities.
', 'A
', 'new
', 'slate
', 'of
', 'shows
', 'about
', 'climate
', 'change
', 'is
', 'planned,
', 'including
', 'a
', 'documentary
', 'series,
', '“Frozen
', 'Gold,”
', 'focused
', 'on
', 'amateur
', 'miners
', 'in
', 'Greenland,
', 'where
', 'melting
', 'ice
', 'has
', 'exposed
', 'mineral
', 'deposits.
', 'Mr.
', 'Allen,
', 'the
', 'chairman
', 'of
', 'the
', 'company
', 'that
', 'owns
', 'the
', 'Weather
', 'Channel,
', 'said
', 'in
', 'the
', 'interview
', 'that
', 'he
', 'was
', 'unbothered
', 'by
', 'Fox’s
', 'poaching
', 'of
', 'his
', 'talent.
', '“Business
', 'is
', 'a
', 'contact
', 'sport,”
', 'he
', 'said.
', '“So
', 'they
', 'took
', 'a
', 'couple
', 'of
', 'our
', 'producers.
', 'That’s
', 'OK.
', 'What
', 'I’ve
', 'always
', 'found
', 'is
', 'that
', 'whenever
', 'we
', 'hire
', 'new
', 'people,
', 'we
', 'usually
', 'get
', 'better.”
', 'Rivalries,
', 'he
', 'added,
', 'can
', 'be
', 'mutually
', 'beneficial.
', '“There’s
', 'no
', 'Ali
', 'without
', 'George
', 'Foreman,”
', 'Mr.
', 'Allen
', 'said.
', '“I
', 'just
', 'love
', 'the
', 'fact
', 'that
', 'one
', 'of
', 'the
', 'best
', 'to
', 'ever
', 'live
', 'in
', 'the
', 'business
', 'of
', 'media
', 'wants
', 'to
', 'be
', 'a
', 'partner
', 'in
', 'this
', 'space
', 'with
', 'me.”
']Popular Articles/span>
