Local on the 8s Major Change Beginning Tomorrow

[Zach]

I just watched a segment of this now, and I couldn't believe it. The only thing that changed is the upper-right display and nothing more. It is not "the same products" because there was no 36-hour forecast displayed at all, nor a 7-day forecast. The LDL on my IS2 just kept running as normal (it wasn't even on Tampa!), and the sidebar info just switched between the almanac and the radar.

However, on the national feed (which for some reason shows through watching online in the Spectrum TV app instead of my locals), when the LOT8s corner graphic came on, the sidebar graphic changed to a similar map loop of the regions across the US as fullscreen LOT8s, and concluded in the southwest.

[luesjo12]

I created this poll to gauge what people think of the changes. Hopefully TWC sees it. https://twitter.com/wxtv_/status/981154206622068736?s=21

[yourweathertoday]

This morning, the Weather Channel logo is being replaced with a constant Local on the 8s on the lower bottom corner. Only one I've seen is at the :18 and :48 on the hour (at least on the morning shows so far).

There hasn't been one positive change to this network in the last 7 years. It's a shame, because this forum was once so lively with passion. It has died along with the network.

They appear to only care about ad revenue, and they will cut anything that gets in the way, even royalty rights to jazz artists.

I'm sick of the same production music they've been playing for five years. It is completely stale, and it's awful they've gotten away with it for so long. However, I guess it doesn't matter, because they're just trying to phase out the local forecast anyway.

Damn shame what has happened to this once great network. The good days were when we'd complain about them keeping a music playlist longer than a month and getting rid of the XL icons.

While I'm not a fan of a lot of the changes that have been made in the last decade, I would argue that the brand image developed for WATT in 2013 was a positive change, in that we got a more consistent-looking channel, that did provide more immersive weather info on-screen. I'd also argue that WxGeeks and Weather Underground have been two very fresh, much-needed shows for the network.

[WeatherWitness]

Yeah, okay, unless I missed something, this was a complete joke. Except for the graphic at the top right sidebar changing to say "Local on the 8s" for a minute, NOTHING else was different. The bottom bar kept scrolling through as normal, and the radar and almanac kept rotating through as normal on the right bar. Seriously?

I'm also not sure why the LOT8s logo is permanently being shown now at the bottom left now.

[twcfan68]

I will agree that Weather Geeks and Weather Underground are interesting programs. Max, I'll give you that one. I just think overall we've given up as fans on this network. We have no choice but to accept all the crappy changes.

Andy, I completely agree with you. The Local on the 8s logo isn't even an accurate statement anymore. Now it's just "Local all the time, but in a tiny, lazy corner."

I just wish someone that has any care of the charm that made TWC once great was running the show. If it were me, I would never get rid of the Local on the 8s, but I would have possibly kept the longer 2-minute forecasts at the :28 and :58 and have maybe reduced the others, if ad money was an issue.

Jazz is just a nice appropriate music choice for a display such as the local forecast. The vocals were cheesy with corny weather references, but I would take it back over what has been playing for nearly 5 years.

I'm just disgusted.

[crazybangles]

There are several things I don't like about this:

1. What is up with this obnoxious TWC logo revealing a small part of the screen next to it? I liked how it was where you couldn't see that part at all, it looked better.
2. Why is there a Local on the 8s logo at the bottom of the screen all the time? It's there all the time. No matter if it is :08, :28, :38, it's there. Why can't the TWC logo above the clock be put there instead and the local on the 8s logo not be there?
3. Last time I checked, during the "Local on the 8s" on the LDL, the LDL is incredibly glitchy.
4. Who thought this change was a good idea? Although it is nice to have more weather, they could cut back on commercials and still have kept the Local on the 8s.

Can't they just bring back how it was?

[GolfDude]

technically it has reduced commercial time..

Show Starts :58-:15
Commercial: 15-:18
LOT8: :18-19
Segment: :19-25
Commercial:  25-28
Segment: 28-35
Commercials: 35-38
Segment: 38-45
Commercial: 45-48
LOT8: 48-49
Segment: 49-55
Commercial: 55-58

1 - 17 min Segment
2 - 6 min Segments
2- 7 min Segments
2- LOT 8's
15 min Commercials

45 min weather, 15 min commercials

[TWCJim]

Honestly, I was expecting to see a lot more than some silly grayish LOT8s logo on the LDL (in place of the blue TWC logo) and leave almost everything else untouched, aside from the reduction of the number of LFs to just only two an hour. I guess TWC probably just needed the extra ad space. 

[Lotologist492]

This round of changes appear to be no more than window dressing to go along with their optimistic email they sent out Monday.  I know they claim more weather coverage is the result but local forecasts are considered weather coverage too, so all they did was shift product types and solved nothing. 

The new 'Local on the 8's' will likely be difficult to read for many viewers too.  I am in agreement - not a positive change AT ALL.

Then again, MTV used to play music lol....

[yourweathertoday]

I also just think, frankly, that they're realizing that there's little point (generally beyond this group) in having a full local forecast every ten minutes during live coverage when you can get the exact same thing (and more) on the phone, tablet, or laptop in front of you. A paradigm shift in information delivery started about ten years ago, and hasn't stopped. I don't agree with it, but if you want a nice view into the channel's general viewing demographic, scroll through the comments on the FaceBook posts by the OCMs and network. Mixed in with a lot of "no more reality TV!" are a lot of "thanks I'm glad you're not wasting time with something I can get anytime I want."

[twcclassics]

I also just think, frankly, that they're realizing that there's little point (generally beyond this group) in having a full local forecast every ten minutes during live coverage when you can get the exact same thing (and more) on the phone, tablet, or laptop in front of you.

...unless you're someone like my step-dad who almost never uses the internet, but always needs weather information because of his job.

[yourweathertoday]

I also just think, frankly, that they're realizing that there's little point (generally beyond this group) in having a full local forecast every ten minutes during live coverage when you can get the exact same thing (and more) on the phone, tablet, or laptop in front of you.

...unless you're someone like my step-dad who almost never uses the internet, but always needs weather information because of his job.

Absolutely, but the reality is that that is increasingly becoming a very niche market. Astoundingly quickly, actually.

[luesjo12]

I’m honestly dissatisfied with this change. I feel it could have been executed in a better way. I’ve left a post over at weloveweather.tv, since they have an official thread for discussion of the change. https://www.weloveweather.tv/community/discussion/local-on-the-8s-are-being-reimagined/

EDIT: The Weather Channel is asking for all viewers who would like to provide feedback use We Love Weather’s forums. They started tweeting the link to people who are giving them feedback.

[toxictwister00]

Can someone post a picture of what this looks like? I have no idea what this looks like since I don't have cable/TWC anymore.

[Mike M]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9N88fYo4Pd8