Messages

16

Everything Else TWC / Re: General TWC Discussion

« on: April 23, 2016, 12:49:28 AM »

Too bad they did not utilize the special "Earth Day" backgrounds in the LF's (at least they did not on the satellite feed).  I guess they are done with holidays and special days in the LF's.  Arbor Day (April 29th) would be next up but I kinda doubt it.

17

Local Forecast / Re: Smooth Jazz Return!

« on: March 31, 2016, 12:31:09 AM »

I too like the current suite of graphics and icons.  They are in line with what you would expect to see on mobile devices and thus are very simple, clean and modern.  At the same time, I like the prior graphics as well.  That's the beauty of being a fan...every 'era' brings something different to the screen.  The 2004-2013 era would probably been more 'uniform' had it not been for the introduction of HD programming.

If only we had 1:30 or 2:00 LF's again, SIX of them an hour, every hour, with music that is varied, about 90% of us here would be happy.  Even production music ain't all bad, as long as they change it out periodically.  I for one like the storm alert music.  Remember, Network Music (now Killer Tracks) had lots of great tunes.  And if we had six 2:00 LF's per hour, even longform programs would not be the end of the world, knowing we could count on 10-12 mins of jazz / instrumentals per hour.

18

Local Forecast / Re: Smooth Jazz Return!

« on: March 18, 2016, 10:57:00 PM »

Although the Jazz music is great, the point is almost moot.  During longform as well as during WUTV, all we get is local on the 18 - one LF an hour!  Furthermore, you simply can't fit much music, Jazz, production, vocal, whatever, into one minute. 

If the 90-second or 2-minute LF were brought back, that would be a much more compelling case for Jazz and/or vocals to return.  This seems unlikely though as TWC has to sell commercial space and eliminating LF's has been an effective way to make more advert time available.  In fact, I have to believe the only reason they keep that one LF an hour is so they can sell a decorated ad background if needed.

Clearly LF's are on the back burner.  The special holiday background LF's are hardly used anymore.  With smart cable / satellite boxes and smartphone apps, local weather is always a click away.  I would not expect anything magical to happen with our Intellistar LF's.

19

Local Forecast / Re: New song during local on the 8s?

« on: February 17, 2016, 11:55:59 PM »

It has been over a year since any new tracks have been added to the regular LF rotation.  Maybe they are trying to be more like Canada's The Weather Network...

20

Local Forecast / Re: General LF Discussion

« on: December 20, 2015, 05:17:42 AM »

Are the random scenic backgrounds in the LOT8's a thing of the past now?  All I am seeing are ads for the various programs and longform shows (and occasionally a sponsor ad).  The first day of winter is Monday but I have to wonder if they will utilize the winter scenes from last year or just keep running the advertising backgrounds.

They did not use any scenic backgrounds on the first day of Hanukkah, except for the Lot18 during the overnight longform; none the following programming day.  I wonder if they will skip Christmas and New Year's also...

On another note, I am glad they brought back Christmas music.  That was the first change made to the LF music since last January when they added one additional song to the generic LF lineup.

21

Everything Else TWC / Re: Weather Channel for Sale

« on: October 28, 2015, 11:09:21 PM »

TWC will likely partner with the new owners of the domain weather.com and simply pay them royalties.  At the end of the day, I seriously doubt TWC and weather.com will be severed.  Ad revenues from weather.com will go to the new owners.

22

Everything Else TWC / Re: General TWC Discussion

« on: October 03, 2015, 01:12:19 AM »

I remember back in the day the network aired pre-recorded studio coverage from 2-5AM ET, which was essentially a loop of the 2AM hour.  If the network does indeed go weather 24/7 I could see this as a possibility again.  Better yet, they could air a continual loop of maps / radar set to background music and then add in LOT8s.  Of course if there is severe weather they would go live.

Trying to predict what TWC will do with its schedule is akin to predicting a hurricane track.  This next month will be an interesting one for TWC fans.

23

Everything Else TWC / Re: General TWC Discussion

« on: October 02, 2015, 12:21:47 AM »

Interestingly, right before live coverage ended they pulled the latest computer models which indicated less confidence the hurricane would stay offshore.  Yet they still went to taped programs at midnight.  If the network is really planning on phasing out reality shows, one would think this would be a great time to practice....

24

Local Forecast / Re: General LF Discussion

« on: September 24, 2015, 01:02:45 AM »

I also noticed there were no autumn backgrounds for the satellite LF's.  The exception was at 7:08AM ET and 8:08AM ET, during AMHQ; Those two LF's had the autumn scenes. 

This screams apathy on the part of TWC.  These LF backgrounds are obviously in their library and would have cost them ZERO to implement.  For all the noise regarding cut backs of celebrity talent (Al Roker) to save money, simply using the change of seasons to add to the flavor of the programming seems to be a no brainer.

But - - having been a loyal viewer since the 1980's, I see the trend.  TWC will spend a heap of cash to bring in celebrities but will ignore the simple and free (no licensing required) things to make their channel more of a pleasure to watch.