Graphically, I think this looks great. A much needed refresh from the ground up, instead of the current mish-mash of a number of elements over the years. It's a look that's very European in its execution, straddling a very fine line between news and entertainment, which is what TWC does these days, for better or for worse.
That said, there are a few elements that are surprising. One is the news ticker that comes a few years after they stripped elements out of the LDL, saying people weren't looking for anything but weather down there (or more likely, didn't want to pay to renew the deal with Traffic Pulse). But there's news and sports there in the example given - but the weather remains constant, so that's different, and perhaps that's why a ticker is there - moreso than just filling up a space.
A return of the L-Bar is a little surprising too. It always seems like this element comes in and is then dropped soon thereafter. Maybe it'll have a longer lease on life, since it appears to be cycling local info - before it was national on the side with the 33% LDL at the bottom, no?
Finally, an interesting choice on the maps in making them very minimalistic, almost a throwback to the days when forecast maps were mainly brown for land and blue for sea. My guess into that decision is by reducing elements of the maps (topography, mountains and the like) and giving them a neutral color, it puts the weather element - watch areas, temperature ranges, radar - front and center.
While we're talking about minimalistic, I wonder if the icons will get a splash more of color on-air when this debuts. They have it on the new website, and I think it would help break up what it admittedly a lot of grey.
Anywho, that's my two cents. I look forward to seeing it in motion to see if it can be as smooth in execution as it is in the mock-up video.
