If you are one of the 14 million satellite-TV customers through the Dish Network and occasionally tune to the Weather Channel to get your weather information, that source of weather information is no more.
As of midnight Thursday, the No. 2 U.S. satellite-TV provider, Dish Network Corp., dropped NBC Universal's Weather Channel.
Dish said since General Electric Co.'s NBC Universal bought the Weather Channel in 2008 for 3.5 billion dollars, it has been adding movies and other entertainment programming, while moving away from weather reporting, but you will not be without an alternative.
The Dish Network is starting its own provided weather service called Weather Cast, which will run 24 hours a day and feature weather reporting and interactive forecasts.
Dave Shull, Dish's Senior Vice President for Programming,
"Our customers always tell us that the only thing they want in a weather channel is weather reporting."
During a significant severe weather event at the end of April, many viewers were outraged that the Weather Channel was showing a movie, rather than updating the public on the dangerous weather situation unfolding across parts of the Mid South.
Even Longtime Weather Channel meteorologist Jim Cantore, who often pops up on sister networks NBC and MSNBC, felt the need to tweet an apology to his followers after the network remained with a movie, instead of breaking in with coverage of a deadly tornado outbreak in Arkansas.
Atlanta-based Weather Channel said discussions with the Dish Network broke off because of price and not the programming.
Weather Channel Statement,
"Dish has chosen to be the first distributor to drop the Weather Channel rather than pay the standard industry rates others in the industry have already agreed to pay. We are disappointed with their decision and hopeful that we can still reach an agreement."
Weather Channel had recently surpassed the 100 million household mark.
Information from: www.examiner.com
