DISH Network/Weather Channel Reach Renewal Agreement

[skysurfer]

Press Release just received!

DISH Network and The Weather Channel Reach Agreement
Includes development of new full-time weather forecasting services

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. and ATLANTA, May 24, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX News Network/ -- DISH Network L.L.C. and The Weather Channel today announced that they have reached a multi-year agreement for continued distribution of The Weather Channel on DISH Network's programming platform.



The deal provides for collaboration between both companies in developing state-of-the-art, full-time weather forecasting services designed specifically for satellite customers, including localized weather programming on DISH Network Ch. 213 (in addition to The Weather Channel's main feed on Ch. 214), interactive TV applications, as well as new Internet and mobile services.


Deployment of the new services will begin this summer.



"Through this new partnership with The Weather Channel, DISH Network is giving our subscribers exactly what they've asked for and more. Not only are we developing a unique satellite service that provides localized weather 24/7, but also we'll soon deliver personalized weather reports via the Android mobile platform and the web," said Dave Shull, senior vice president of Programming for DISH Network. "This agreement recognizes the importance of cross-platform video delivery, ensuring that our subscribers will have the most detailed local weather information available at their fingertips anytime, anywhere."



"DISH Network and their customers are extremely important to us, and maintaining and expanding our partnership is a high priority for our company," said Mike Kelly, CEO and President of The Weather Channel. "DISH Network will now be carrying two of our channels - The Weather Channel and a customized 24-hour, all-local weather information network - to provide even better service to their customers. We also look forward to working with DISH Network on other cross-platform and interactive initiatives, taking advantage of our leadership position in mobile and the Internet."
Additional terms of the deal were not disclosed.



About DISH Network
DISH Network L.L.C., a subsidiary of DISH Network Corporation (Nasdaq: DISH), leads the pay-TV industry in technological breakthroughs and provides more than 14.3 million satellite TV customers, as of March 31, 2010, with the highest quality programming and technology at the best value. Customers have access to the most HD channels, the most international channels, state-of-the-art interactive TV applications, and award-winning HD and DVR technology including the ViP 922 SlingLoaded DVR, the world's only DVR with TV Everywhere functionality. DISH Network Corporation is included in the Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) and is a Fortune 200 company. Visit www.dish.com, follow on Twitter, @dishnetwork (DISH Network (dishnetwork) on Twitter), or become a Fan on Facebook, www.facebook.com/dishnetwork.



About The Weather Channel Companies
The Weather Channel Companies (TWCC) is made up of The Weather Channel television network, The Weather Channel digital properties, and Weather Services International (WSI). The Weather Channel(R) is based in Atlanta and is seen in more than 100 million U.S. households. TWC also operates Weatherscan, a 24-hour all-local weather network and seen in 20 of the top 25 markets; The Weather Channel Radio Network; and The Weather Channel HD. The digital properties of TWC, which include the weather.com(R) site, The Weather Channel Desktop and The Weather Channel Mobile, reach more than 40 million unique users online each month and is the most popular source of online weather, news and information according to Nielsen//NetRatings. WSI, headquartered in Andover, MA, primarily provides business-to-business weather services, particularly for the media, aviation, marine and energy sectors. TWCC is owned by a consortium made up of NBC Universal and the private equity firms The Blackstone Group and Bain Capital. For more information, visit www.weather.com/press.



SOURCE DISH Network Corporation

 

[eacalhoun]

So does paragraph 2 of this press release mean that the newly-started relationship with "The Weather Cast" channel launched just last week will be short-lived?

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

The way I am reading it, it appears that The Weathercast channel will be history soon.

 

[skysurfer]

The way I am reading it, it appears that The Weathercast channel will be history soon.

yep, it sounds like TWC will be providing better localized weather info for channel 213.

WeatherCast probably will stick around and convert into a digital multicast service for stations that have the multicast space and don't want to partner with Accuweather or do their own local weather channel.

 

[sundude90]

I sure hope The Weathercast Channel will stay, I actually like this channel!

 

[aquaman67]

Weathercast will sue The Weather Channel and Dish for infringing on Weathercast’s patented weather forecasting. The ensuing lawsuit will drag on for years with endless appeals until Dish buys Weathercast.

 

[Darrell S]

Weathercast will sue The Weather Channel and Dish for infringing on Weathercast’s patented weather forecasting. The ensuing lawsuit will drag on for years with endless appeals until Dish buys Weathercast.

We have an early winner for post of the day.

 

[navychop]

:up:up

 

[DustoMan]

Weathercast will sue The Weather Channel and Dish for infringing on Weathercast’s patented weather forecasting. The ensuing lawsuit will drag on for years with endless appeals until Dish buys Weathercast.

Soo... DISH has resorted to suing itself?!?!?

 

[Yespage]

I remember the good ole days of Primestar that had Intellicast radar for different regions of the nation, 24/7. Once Directv bought them out, that disappeared, and with it, the last decent Sat weather coverage.

Today, OTA sub-channels is how I follow the weather.

 

[Hall]

Not only are we developing a unique satellite service that provides localized weather 24/7

Blah, blah, blah ... After how many attempts, I don't think Dish knows what "local" weather, i.e. what The Weather Channel offers on cable, really is. This "local" interactive weather that they planned to offer via Weather Cast was NOTHING DIFFERENT than what they offered via TWC one week ago. All they did was swap logos !

I am disappointed, like many others, in TWC's current offerings too. I think showing movies really went off the deep-end from their classic offering. I do wonder, did they only do this on satellite ? Did cable customers still see full-time weather, 24/7 ?

 

[dmendenjr]

If they have a way to deliver a localized "Weatherscan" similar to how it is on my local comcast system, I'll be more than thrilled. (wonder if that could be done on spotbeams for each of the local markets then mapped down to channel 213)?

 

[whatchel1]

Can't

Soo... DISH has resorted to suing itself?!?!?

Nice response even though it can't since it doesn't own WC. Weather Nation owns it.

 

[Camdog916]

THANK GOD. THAT WEATHER CAST CHANNEL IS GARBAGE!

 

[charlesrshell]

Does anyone know if Dish will ever get Howard Stern TV show? His show is the only thing we miss from our old cable TV provider.

 

[Hall]

If they have a way to deliver a localized "Weatherscan" similar to how it is on my local comcast system, I'll be more than thrilled. (wonder if that could be done on spotbeams for each of the local markets then mapped down to channel 213)?

One way they could do this is via our broadband connections. I suspect they don't because a) the number of ViP receivers out there isn't a high enough number (in relation to non-ViP receivers) and b) those with ViP receivers don't have them hooked up to their broadband connections.

How does DirecTV do it ? I've seen screenshots and it looks nice. I've never seen it in action though...

 

[BobMurdoch]

Bottom line, Charlie proved to TWC that he could produce an alternate channel quick that weakened TWC's negotiating position. The channel never even went dark and they came up with a deal. Charlie keeps more of his chips, and he supposedly extracts a commitment to take better care of the satellite customers with a better localized offering (the details are sketchy, but anything is better than that little info ribbon on the bottom of the SD channel only that they have now...).

 

[Hall]

Does anyone know if Dish will ever get Howard Stern TV show?

Is Stern doing weather now ?

 

[eacalhoun]

Bottom line, Charlie proved to TWC that he could produce an alternate channel quick that weakened TWC's negotiating position. The channel never even went dark and they came up with a deal. Charlie keeps more of his chips, and he supposedly extracts a commitment to take better care of the satellite customers with a better localized offering (the details are sketchy, but anything is better than that little info ribbon on the bottom of the SD channel only that they have now...).

I remember a thread on this board several (maybe 5?) years ago where DISH Network was developing a very robust local interactive page which would automatically popup during TWC's "Local on the 8s" segments. It would even have the capability of alerting a viewer to severe weather in the viewer's LOCAL area. It really was to have behaved a lot like cable's "Local on the 8s". I believe Scott posted some screenshot samples of how it would appear. This idea apparently failed, DISH dropped it, or something happpned. All that became of this idea is the banner we now see at the bottom of the screen.

Eric

 

[VARTV]

Today, OTA sub-channels is how I follow the weather.

Really??? Though our market has no OTA weather sub channels (thank goodness), I surely wouldn't rely on them if we did. There are several up-to-the-minute sources on the Internets for local weather...