Sweeping Changes Coming: Champion Cancelled, Less Reality Shows

[TrevortonG16]

YES! YES! This is the Weather Channel we've known and loved.

[IceManNYR]

I wonder if some of this is a reaction to FiOS saying we don't need The Weather Channel due to in part the reduction of weather content and stopping negotiations on a new contract for The Weather Channel?

[Star4000 Fan]

Maybe they'll return "Your Weather Today with Abrams and Bettes"?   

I don't think they're gonna move Mike Bettes off a show he hosts and is the poster boy for (see the LF background) less than 6 months after launching it. The more likely scenario is Abrams joining Bettes on WUTV. A change that I would not mind at all.

When I saw her do her live feed from an apartment? during WUTV, I was kind of creeped out, but was glad to see the two of them working together.

I think the layoffs already started with Vivian Brown - I would suspect now that the move was DEFINITELY cost-cutting, horrific that it happened to her so close to retirement (this is why we have 401Ks, folks - you can get shafted by your company even after decades).  It was all about output and what is produced.  That's why Jim Cantore is still working at his salary - he is more versatile.

I can't stand Sam Champion - he's too over the top.  The Big Kahunas couldn't make the show work even with Jim moved to help out.   Too much competition with the regular networks.

I have been watching TWC for almost 27 years.  Hopefully, it will be trending back to before this recent monstrosity. 

And yes, I would love to see the kindergarten Windows8 icons removed, but if they are cost-cutting, they will probably limit that kind of change in the short term.

[toxictwister00]

All of this sounds encouraging, but talk is cheap. Let's see if TWC can put their money where their mouth is. I know I'm being the Debbie Downer, but I'm not all that convinced to be honest. I feel like we've seen this song and dance before...(*cough* *cough* DirecTV)

Also I think it's pretty obvious to say once Sam Champion's contract is up, he's gone too. This risky venture TWC took on Champion because of his popularity/weather fame on Good Morning America clearly backfired badly and it seems like they're trying to save face by sticking him "somewhere" on the schedule until they run the clock out because they don't want to admit AMHQ was a failure. (at least compared to WUWA) Anybody find it odd that they're booting Champion from AMHQ, but they're keeping the name? Eventhough Champion's name is not anchored to it in the same way WUWA was for Al Roker, it seems weird to me to keep the name when the show essentially revolved around Champion. I guess it's weird only for the simple fact of him still being there in some capacity afterwards.

[jrhtwc]

All of this sounds encouraging, but talk is cheap. Let's see if TWC can put their money where their mouth is. I know I'm being the Debbie Downer, but I'm not all that convinced to be honest. I feel like we've seen this song and dance before...(*cough* *cough* DirecTV)

Also I think it's pretty obvious to say once Sam Champion's contract is up, he's gone too. This risky venture TWC took on Champion because of his popularity/weather fame on Good Morning America clearly backfired badly and it seems like they're trying to save face by sticking him "somewhere" on the schedule until they run the clock out because they don't want to admit AMHQ was a failure. (at least compared to WUWA) Anybody find it odd that they're booting Champion from AMHQ, but they're keeping the name? Eventhough Champion's name is not anchored to it in the same way WUWA was for Al Roker, it seems weird to me to keep the name when the show essentially revolved around Champion. I guess it's weird only for the simple fact of him still being there in some capacity afterwards.

How do you explain AMHQ Weekend then?  WCL was dropped for AMHQ Weekend months ago.

[willh699]

looks like The Weather Channel is slowly going back to it's roots as a way to get the channel sold to someone else, sorry to see Vivian parting ways with TWC, but i not surprise to see Al Roker's show go due to the potential sell of of The Weather Channel to it's new potential owners as if it's sold to say CBS or Disney (owners of ABC) or Fox, Al Roker wouldn't be working for the channel as he's currently under contract with NBC Universal.

i hope this plan does well to bring the channel back to a "must go to" status as in the last few years TWC has been doing less weather coverage when people need them the most.

[toxictwister00]

How do you explain AMHQ Weekend then?  WCL was dropped for AMHQ Weekend months ago.

The way you explain it is it's easier and convenient to take an existing weekday show and expand it to weekends rather than having to create a bunch of brand new shows from scratch as long as a specific person's name isn't attached to the show like WUWA for example. Also I forgot there was even a weekend edition of AMHQ, I haven't seen/watched TWC since November last year. AMHQ having a weekend edition show is beside the point I was making anyway. My point was I thought it was a little odd to yank Sam Champion from a show that was originally developed for him (well before this weekend expansion) when he joined TWC last year that's all.

[02Justin10]

As much as I want to be positive about this news...I am not getting too excited yet.  All we know is that they plan to reintroduce more live weather coverage over the next year.  If TWC just adds 2 hours of weekday coverage and three hours of weekend coverage...does it all really matter?  Part of this thinking does have me going back to Vivian.  These announced plans by TWC must have been floating around for at least the past month, yet they still choose to let Vivian Brown go?  Lets just say I am cautiously optimistic...but yes, I think this is the best news to hear in quite a while.

[TWC Fan]

I also miss the original hours too.

Weekdays:

5am/4am ct to 11am/10am ct.
11am/10am ct to 5pm/4pm ct.

Weekends:

5am/4am ct to 5pm/4pm ct.

Everyday:

5pm/4pm ct to 2am/1am ct.
2am/1am ct to 5am/4am ct.

[jrhtwc]

As much as I want to be positive about this news...I am not getting too excited yet.  All we know is that they plan to reintroduce more live weather coverage over the next year.  If TWC just adds 2 hours of weekday coverage and three hours of weekend coverage...does it all really matter?  Part of this thinking does have me going back to Vivian.  These announced plans by TWC must have been floating around for at least the past month, yet they still choose to let Vivian Brown go?  Lets just say I am cautiously optimistic...but yes, I think this is the best news to hear in quite a while.

If yesterday's plans got approved before Vivian left. I'm hoping it's just because of low pay, not just because TWC wanted to look good in the press release and not follow through.  Why would you let someone go if you're making more live time? Doesn't make sense to me. 

IMO, Sam is not TWC's biggest problem right now. He's fine to me on AMHQ. He rocked his first gig with Maria on a Storm Alert WCL the winter he started. Putting Sam in primetime is not "putting him somewhere" considering TWC hasn't used a Studio in Primetime in how long??????????????

IMO,TWC should first work on their Severe in Primetime image or the their Weekend Schedule image.

[Pop Light Brown]

Here's an article from the Capital Weather Gang. It says AMHQ's last day is Nov. 2.

Plus, could we be looking at a possible sale of the network down the line?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/wp/2015/09/09/reeling-weather-channel-trims-fat-to-focus-on-weather-sam-champion-show-cancelled/

[Localonthe8s]

Million dollar question is...what will happen to Local on the 8s?!

[Tyler]

If they're focusing on WEATHER now, I don't know why everyone is so concerned about what's going to happen to LOT8s?

[WeatherSTAR]

If they're focusing on WEATHER now, I don't know why everyone is so concerned about what's going to happen to LOT8s?

Among other various things, a picture of an upcoming radar product for the I2 sidebar was shown on General TWC Discussion, which brought up the question if LOT8s was going to be cut back further than it already is sometimes. (Perhaps the idea behind this reasoning is because all the local information could be put on the sidebar. Honestly, I doubt this will happen, seeing as the WeatherStar units were primarily made to display full screen local forecasts. Who knows, though? )

IMO, I'm excited to see what they're planning on doing. Everything sounds like it really might be a transition back to mostly weather (something that might actually bring me back to TWC for the first time in forever), but at the same time I'm wondering whether the promises will actually be fulfilled or not. The DirecTV dispute made them realize that longform wasn't working too well- although they did cut back somewhat, it was not truly weather all the time. Our local headend has yet to install a I2HD (we have an I2XD on the SD channel), and because of this, we get the HD feed for the whole nation. The national weather doesn't even show during longform. I hope that they'll live up to that promise, to show weather all the time with this return to weather. It's almost been 2 years now (only ≈2 months until then) since the initial revamp.

Now if they re-add smooth jazz to the LF's (perhaps bring back longer LOT8s as well), I'm in. 

[Star4000 Fan]

If they're focusing on WEATHER now, I don't know why everyone is so concerned about what's going to happen to LOT8s?

Considering that I have rarely seen it on the Eights and almost never during "weathertainment", ANY consistency with the Local Forecast would be an improvement.

I can't remember HOW many times in the past year alone, I get ready for a run and need to check a radar to see if it is going to rain while I run.  I wait for 15-20 minutes on TWC and NOTHING comes up.  I have to go upstairs to a computer to the NWS website or even The WeatherSTAR simulator to get a radar.

The "LDL" was so minimal for information, it wouldn't help!