WeatherNation TV

History

WeatherNation was founded by Minneapolis–Saint Paul-based meteorologist Paul Douglas in 2010. Robert J. Sigg's Performance One Media in 2010 acquired the WeatherNation trademarks and brand from the original WeatherNation (which eventually became part of AerisWeather), a centralized weather service for local stations and web sites. Broadcast Weather also was hired to provide weather news programming for WeatherNation channel. In March 2011, WeatherNation, Inc. and National Cable Television Cooperative (NCTC) reached a long-term carriage agreement for a national channel for a second quarter 2011 roll out. Performance One Media later gained full ownership and control over WeatherNation following a lawsuit against it in 2014.

WeatherNation would gain its first broadcast television outlet by October 24, 2011, WHDT in Stuart, Florida, as its primary affiliation. WIYC in Montgomery, Alabama, also started carrying WeatherNation that same month. Further expansion of its broadcast affiliate body continued in January 2012, when WeatherNation added affiliates in Minneapolis, Minnesota (KARE-TV); Little Rock, Arkansas (KMYA-DT); Fort Smith, Arkansas (KFDF-CA); and Springfield, Missouri (KFFS-CA).

Many of WeatherNation TV's initial over-the-air affiliates were low-power and full-power stations that were not affiliated with one of the major broadcast television networks. However, from 2012 to 2014, the network announced piecemeal agreements with two major broadcasting groups to carry WeatherNation on the subchannels of network-affiliated stations (including one which expanded upon an existing affiliation agreement with such a station). During 2013 and 2014, the network expanded its distribution agreement with the Gannett Company, owner of Minneapolis affiliate KARE-TV, to add the network on the subchannels of its stations in cities such as Atlanta (WXIA-TV), Denver (KUSA), and Washington, D.C. (WUSA). On October 27, 2014, WeatherNation TV signed an affiliation agreement with the Sinclair Broadcast Group to carry its programming on a subchannel of the company's flagship station, WBFF in Baltimore.

On January 14, 2014, WeatherNation launched on DirecTV channel 361 as part of a carriage dispute between The Weather Channel and DirecTV. On April 21, 2015, Dish Network announced that it had reached an agreement to add WeatherNation onto its lineup, making it available on channel 215. On August 1, 2018, DirecTV dropped WeatherNation.

On October 12, 2022, Procter & Gamble announced it would no longer air advertising on either Performance One network due to the overtly political programming of sister network Real America's Voice.

Availability

Current affiliates

Pay television

WeatherNation TV's national feed began to be carried on satellite provider DirecTV on channel 361 on December 16, 2013; the provider reached a temporary carriage agreement with the network while it was renegotiating its contract with The Weather Channel (which was carried on channel 362). After DirecTV dropped The Weather Channel on January 14, 2014, due to the reasons behind Dish Network's planned removal of the channel in May 2010, the provider replaced The Weather Channel on channel 362 with WeatherNation, which lasted until The Weather Channel and DirecTV struck a new carriage agreement on April 8, 2014, that restored TWC on channel 362; however, WeatherNation TV would continue to be carried on channel 361 until 2018 as a result of a long-term carriage agreement it signed with DirecTV on April 2, one week prior to The Weather Channel agreement.

On April 21, 2015, WeatherNation reached an agreement with Dish Network to be offered to its customers as a six-week preview, and then added to Dish's America's Top 120 programming packages.

On August 1, 2018, DirecTV dropped its carriage of WeatherNation, replacing it with the AccuWeather Network.

Digicel Play added WeatherNation in September 2016 to its channel lineup in Dominica, Turks and Caicos, and Jamaica; it is available on channel #514.

Over-the-top providers

Pluto TV added WeatherNation in December 2018.

References

References

1. Stanley-Becker, Isaac. (January 25, 2022). "Steve Bannon was deplatformed. An obscure media mogul keeps him on the air.". [[The Washington Post]].
2. Samenow, Jason. (August 18, 2011). "An alternative to The Weather Channel: Weather Nation TV, interview with CEO Paul Douglas". [[The Washington Post]].
3. (March 30, 2011). "WeatherNation TV Cuts Distribution Deal with NCTC". [[NewBay Media]].
4. (2022-09-09). "How Procter & Gamble ended up funding Steve Bannon's War Room".
5. (October 27, 2011). "WHDT Drops RTV For Weather Nation". NewsCheck Media.
6. (October 6, 2011). "WIYC 48 Drops The Country Network".
7. (January 23, 2012). "Gannett's KARE 11, WeatherNation Partner for 24/7 Twin Cities Weather Coverage".
8. (January 23, 2012). "WeatherNation Continues to Add More Affiliates".
9. (October 3, 2013). "Gannett's WXIA Atlanta To Air WeatherNation". NewsCheck Media.
10. (June 4, 2013). "WeatherNation Launches On KUSA Denver". NewsCheck Media.
11. (April 8, 2014). "WUSA Enhances Its First Alert Weather With WeatherNation TV in Washington, D.C.". Yahoo! Finance.
12. Ray Frager. (October 27, 2014). "New weather channel launches". [[Maryland Daily Record]].
13. (January 14, 2014). "The Weather Channel Now Dark on DirecTV". NewBay Media, LLC.
14. Mike Farrell. (April 23, 2015). "Dish Network Launches WeatherNation". NewBay Media.
15. (September 9, 2022). "How Procter & Gamble ended up funding Steve Bannon's War Room".
16. "Rabbitears.info Network List - WeatherNation TV". [[RabbitEars]].
17. Joe Flint. (December 25, 2013). "DirecTV issues veiled threat in talks with Weather Channel". [[Los Angeles Times]].
18. Todd Spangler. (January 13, 2014). "Weather Channel Pulled from DirecTV". [[PMC (company).
19. (April 2, 2014). "DirecTV Signs Multi-Year Deal with WeatherNation". Penske Media Corporation.
20. (2018-08-01). "DirecTV Adds AccuWeather, Drops WeatherNation". nexttv.com.
21. https://dominicanewsonline.com/news/homepage/news/general/business-byte-digicel-play-adds-weathernation-to-its-channel-line-up/
22. Bouma, Luke. (December 5, 2018). "Pluto TV Adds WeatherNation & Combate World".