DirecTV Dropping TWC

[WeatherSTARIII]

The hilarious thing about that video?  The Weather Channel aired the first part of it.

In other words, AN NBC-OWNED PROPERTY ACKNOWLEDGED THE EXISTENCE OF CONAN O'BRIEN.

But Conan's with TBS now.

[Evan2015]

The hilarious thing about that video?  The Weather Channel aired the first part of it.

In other words, AN NBC-OWNED PROPERTY ACKNOWLEDGED THE EXISTENCE OF CONAN O'BRIEN.

MSNBC's "Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell" routinely uses Conan clips along with other comedians coming in and out of commercial breaks.

[Eric]

Never,ind the not naming winter storms hypothesis.  Because we now have warnings for the I-95 corridor, they've gone to Winter Storm Janus.

Allow me to introduce you all to Facepalm Jim..

I love Jim Gardner!  I used to visit Philadelphia every summer, and I always watched "Action News"!

[HulkieD]

The hilarious thing about that video?  The Weather Channel aired the first part of it.

In other words, AN NBC-OWNED PROPERTY ACKNOWLEDGED THE EXISTENCE OF CONAN O'BRIEN.

But Conan's with TBS now.

Yes, but he's at TBS because of all the crap that went down when they decided to give him The Tonight Show, then panicked and gave Jay Leno a 10pm show, and then decided to move Jay back to 11:35, at which point Conan rebelled and said he wasn't going to do it.

Since then, NBC has pretty much wiped the fact that Conan was employed by them from the Internet.  Promos for the Tonight Show even make it seem like Conan hosted PRIOR TO JAY TAKING OVER IN 1992.  Seriously.  That's why it struck me that they aired a Conan clip.

I love Jim Gardner!  I used to visit Philadelphia every summer, and I always watched "Action News"!

Jim Gardner is the greatest local news anchor in America.  His twitter is an absolute must-follow, and he's let a bit more of his snarkiness appear on the air.  Action News is great but I think editorially right now the best newscast is NBC 10.  Comcast backed up a dumptruck of money to that station, and the extra investment is showing on-screen.

[IceManNYR]

Kim and Mark were supposed to be on 3pm-7pm. Instead they only did one hour then Maria came back on after doing her regular AM shift to co host 4pm-8pm with Sam Champion.
Odd they made Maria come back instead of using another female OCM.

[toxictwister00]

Kim and Mark were supposed to be on 3pm-7pm. Instead they only did one hour then Maria came back on after doing her regular AM shift to co host 4pm-8pm with Sam Champion.
Odd they made Maria come back instead of using another female OCM.

I'm gonna make a prediction: Sam Champion will likely have a co-host like Al Roker w/ Stephanie Abrams. Maria LaRosa is most likely at the top of the list of candidates for that position.

Tonight is probably a test run to see how well they work together, but that's just my opinion/thoughts on why Maria is there tonight.

[IceManNYR]

I'd agree on that. Especially since the relaunch Jen C. has been doing the 4am-5:30am weekday shifts and her regular 7am-11am weekend shifts while Maria stays on the current AM show with Mike.
I'd guess the new am show is going to be Sam, Maria and Mike.

[skian]

Any word on negotiations between TWC and DirectTV? Was the ball fumbled or just dropped and no one is willing to pick it up?

[HulkieD]

Any word on negotiations between TWC and DirectTV? Was the ball fumbled or just dropped and no one is willing to pick it up?

Something just came in now - they've written an open letter asking DTV to waive cancellation fees.  It's in PDF format, so I've included the text - in full - below.

Just before midnight on January 13, DIRECTV customers lost access to The Weather Channel.

Since then, over 4 million customers have come to keeptheweatherchannel.com to express their frustration. Over 400,000 have called and emailed DIRECTV. And over 90,000 have pledged to switch providers.

Many thousands have called your customer service centers asking to terminate their contracts since they are now getting less content for the same price. But DIRECTV is threatening them with termination fees of $200 to $400.

We have heard from viewers across the country, like Heather in Texas who wrote, “We just signed on with DIRECTV.…Had I known this was going to happen I would NOT have signed up. I read the fine print (too late) and found that they can do that. It’s wrong.”

We agree. Fairness ought to trump the fine print in your contracts.

The decision to switch providers is never taken lightly. Those who are trying to do so clearly believe The Weather Channel is a valued resource for their families. They are people like @jlawson2011, who tweeted “The Weather Channel saved my life when there was severe weather in my area. Tornado imminent + TWC warning to hide.”

These viewers—your customers—value the fact that since 1982 The Weather Channel has been relying upon the National Weather Service for watches and warnings, which we deliver on a hyper-local basis through our proprietary localization technology.

Your customers were never given a vote about DIRECTV’s decision to drop The Weather Channel. The least you can do is allow them to vote now with their feet by waiving termination fees for those seeking to switch to a provider that still carries The Weather Channel, as every other pay-TV company in the nation does.

Our preference would be for DIRECTV to come back to the negotiating table and restore The Weather Channel to your line up. But as you seem intent on proving a point at the expense of your customers’ interests, then at least allow them to make their own choices without unaffordable penalties.

As our team of more than 220 expert meteorologists tracks winter storms, wildfires in Southern California, and many other potential weather emergencies, a prompt reply—not to me, but to your customers—would surely be appreciated.

....excuse me one more time.

[gt1racerlHDl]

 All i can say is how can you have over 220 Meteorologists and still say your a live saving source with hours of Long Form Programming?

[GEAUXmedic]

After two decades of being a TWC fan, I'm done with them. This is sick of them to do, and they don't seem like they're changing their ways... ridiculous...

[WeatherSTARIII]

Any word on negotiations between TWC and DirectTV? Was the ball fumbled or just dropped and no one is willing to pick it up?

Something just came in now - they've written an open letter asking DTV to waive cancellation fees.  It's in PDF format, so I've included the text - in full - below.

Just before midnight on January 13, DIRECTV customers lost access to The Weather Channel.

Since then, over 4 million customers have come to keeptheweatherchannel.com to express their frustration. Over 400,000 have called and emailed DIRECTV. And over 90,000 have pledged to switch providers.

Many thousands have called your customer service centers asking to terminate their contracts since they are now getting less content for the same price. But DIRECTV is threatening them with termination fees of $200 to $400.

We have heard from viewers across the country, like Heather in Texas who wrote, “We just signed on with DIRECTV.…Had I known this was going to happen I would NOT have signed up. I read the fine print (too late) and found that they can do that. It’s wrong.”

We agree. Fairness ought to trump the fine print in your contracts.

The decision to switch providers is never taken lightly. Those who are trying to do so clearly believe The Weather Channel is a valued resource for their families. They are people like @jlawson2011, who tweeted “The Weather Channel saved my life when there was severe weather in my area. Tornado imminent + TWC warning to hide.”

These viewers—your customers—value the fact that since 1982 The Weather Channel has been relying upon the National Weather Service for watches and warnings, which we deliver on a hyper-local basis through our proprietary localization technology.

Your customers were never given a vote about DIRECTV’s decision to drop The Weather Channel. The least you can do is allow them to vote now with their feet by waiving termination fees for those seeking to switch to a provider that still carries The Weather Channel, as every other pay-TV company in the nation does.

Our preference would be for DIRECTV to come back to the negotiating table and restore The Weather Channel to your line up. But as you seem intent on proving a point at the expense of your customers’ interests, then at least allow them to make their own choices without unaffordable penalties.

As our team of more than 220 expert meteorologists tracks winter storms, wildfires in Southern California, and many other potential weather emergencies, a prompt reply—not to me, but to your customers—would surely be appreciated.

....excuse me one more time.

Yet, TWC stopped using the NWS data for the 36 hour forecast segments on all STAR models. I still dispute TWC's claims of saving lives.

Also for my own reaction about TWC's claims of "saving lives"...

"Gotta palm ém all!"

[skian]

Came across this afternoon.
I think David Kenny could create his own weather front with all that hot air. I think he is still missing the point. He is missing 20 million viewers. At some point the shareholders will grumble.
 
http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2014/01/weather_channel_directv_carriage_dispute_an_interview_with_david_kenny.html

[twcclassics]

Something just came in now - they've written an open letter asking DTV to waive cancellation fees.  It's in PDF format, so I've included the text - in full - below.

That is hysterical! The ego of their current CEO is quite impressive.

[IceManNYR]

I just don't get TWC's rules for when they stay live and when they go to tape.
Last night they ended storm coverage at 8pm though my cable guide said they were going to be on till 11pm.
Tonight there are no active storms and TWC is staying live to 10pm.