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Weather Channel To Share With NBC Affiliates


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Saw this one coming a long time ago...

 

Weather Channel To Share With NBC Affiliates

Will give and grab content through "NewsChannel"

By Michael Malone -- Broadcasting & Cable, 9/22/2009 10:14:49 AM EDT

 

NBC affiliates' weather content is getting a bit richer, as NBC's cable network Weather Channel has joined NBC NewsChannel, the back-end content sharing system that allows participating NBC affiliates to share footage of major breaking news with each other.

 

NBC affiliates chairman Michael Fiorile calls the system "a collaborative," where a station in the Midwest might grab footage of the major flooding occurring in Georgia. Affiliates nationwide can now get extreme weather footage from Weather Channel through NewsChannel.

 

"Weather Channel will make their live shots available to affiliates," says Fiorile, while affiliates do the same for Weather.

 

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/354878-Weather_Channel_To_Share_With_NBC_Affiliates.php

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I have 2 thoughts about this: 1 having weather channel live shots on local stations is a good thing, but, why waste the time if the story isn't local. Which brings me to point 2, could this mean more national news on local newscasts? Despite this, I think it is a good idea.

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The networks already provide live shots for their affiliates through the affiliate news service (CBS Newspath, ABC NewsOne, NBC NewsChannel). It occasionally makes sense if its a major breaking story and a station is pressed to fill the newshole.

 

About once a week, when I'm prepping my weathercasts, I see the "ABC NewsOne Group Live Shot" pop up on the monitor in the weathercenter. They usually offer it at a minute past every half-hour (starting about 4am MT), to get the opens/headlines in. This morning it was TJ Winick, in Georgia, standing knee deep in flood water.

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I have 2 thoughts about this: 1 having weather channel live shots on local stations is a good thing, but, why waste the time if the story isn't local. Which brings me to point 2, could this mean more national news on local newscasts? Despite this, I think it is a good idea.

 

 

1) They've done it for years. My station takes a Cantore live shot on occasion when he is covering something of regional interest. Although, since we're CBS, I guess we won't get those anymore.

 

2) I doubt something like this will cause any negligible impact on local newscasts, many of which are in the tank already.

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1) They've done it for years. My station takes a Cantore live shot on occasion when he is covering something of regional interest. Although, since we're CBS, I guess we won't get those anymore.

 

Hasn't WTKR been an affiliate of The Weather Channel for years? Seems like I remember Mike Mather or Rick Holmes or someone doing a live shot for them down at the beach before Isabel or one of those hurricanes. Makes sense since TWC was owned by Landmark...

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2) I doubt something like this will cause any negligible impact on local newscasts, many of which are in the tank already.

 

Yea you're right about them being in the tank...except one channel in Albany actually added a newscast.

 

 

The networks already provide live shots for their affiliates through the affiliate news service (CBS Newspath, ABC NewsOne, NBC NewsChannel). It occasionally makes sense if its a major breaking story and a station is pressed to fill the newshole.

 

I don't disagree, for a lot of important national stories like elections, etc, etc....but for weather....IDK, that's why stations have weathermen

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I don't disagree, for a lot of important national stories like elections, etc, etc....but for weather....IDK, that's why stations have weathermen

 

But my station isn't going to send me to Georgia to cover a weather story.

 

During my weather segments, I typically don't even make mention of anything happening, weather-wise, outside my viewing area (so far this summer, the only time I've mentioned active weather outside Montana was Hurricane Bill). It's my opinion my viewers are interested in hearing how the weather affects them. Will it rain tomorrow? Will it be hot? Etc. Weather in Georgia doesn't affect my viewers, except in the abstract. Then again my station doesn't run much national news anyway (weekends and a national wrap at 10pm).

 

What it comes down to is a way for NBCU to spread the cost around, for sending the TWC crew out to cover active weather, by tapping into the subscriber fees NBC affiliates pay for the NewsChannel service. Aside from major breaking weather situations (hurricanes, perhaps the aforementioned Georgia flooding), TWC uses their on-scene correspondents maybe once or twice an hour on-air, but the satellite link (which is expensive) is always active...might as well cover the cost by offering it to the affils.

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But my station isn't going to send me to Georgia to cover a weather story.

 

During my weather segments, I typically don't even make mention of anything happening, weather-wise, outside my viewing area (so far this summer, the only time I've mentioned active weather outside Montana was Hurricane Bill). It's my opinion my viewers are interested in hearing how the weather affects them. Will it rain tomorrow? Will it be hot? Etc. Weather in Georgia doesn't affect my viewers, except in the abstract. Then again my station doesn't run much national news anyway (weekends and a national wrap at 10pm).

 

What it comes down to is a way for NBCU to spread the cost around, for sending the TWC crew out to cover active weather, by tapping into the subscriber fees NBC affiliates pay for the NewsChannel service. Aside from major breaking weather situations (hurricanes, perhaps the aforementioned Georgia flooding), TWC uses their on-scene correspondents maybe once or twice an hour on-air, but the satellite link (which is expensive) is always active...might as well cover the cost by offering it to the affils.

 

Yea, I undestand what u are saying, but a lot of times our local weather men do talk about weather stories outside of the region.

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Yea, I undestand what u are saying, but a lot of times our local weather men do talk about weather stories outside of the region.

 

Some stations in this market do that, too. Not a big fan of it. Plus, if I show ANYTHING outside of the two-state map during my weathercasts, my ND wants to know why, and she's usually not happy about it.

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Some stations in this market do that, too. Not a big fan of it. Plus, if I show ANYTHING outside of the two-state map during my weathercasts, my ND wants to know why, and she's usually not happy about it.

 

That's interesting one meteorologist often shows the weather when space shuttles life off, another the weather of football games on that station.

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