Funny story regarding The Weather Channel back in the day when cable television was the new thing in the UK.
Two networks doing just weather launched at approximately the same time - The Weather Network and The Weather Channel. The Weather Network sold to the many cable operators that existed then (before they merged into what would eventually be rebranded into Virgin Media) and The Weather Channel paid to be on Sky - essentially a satellite operation.
The Weather Network had boxes in the cable head ends that did local weather inserts, all done by computer with some music, glorified 'pages from ceefax' mixed in with presentations from the studio for weather in the UK and internationally. The Weather Channel had no localisation.
The Weather Network offered a legit service, who doesn't want to find out what the weather is from their TV? Particularly if it does have the local details. This could be done on a budget as the partners that setup the company already had the data from forecasting for airports etc. as well as the fairly simple boxes for the cable head ends. The product sold itself and never had ambitions to be competing with the big shows on the BBC for eyeballs. It was a simple service that did what it said on the tin.
Meanwhile, The Weather Channel paid top dollar for presenters, paid to be on Sky and had quite a lot of people marketing the service. So adverts were paid for in newspapers, on the Tube trains and elsewhere. They had left the product behind so they decided to buy The Weather Network and use that tech.
So the companies merged and still the marketing hubris ruled the roost. The people with clipboards and power suits were in control, hiring more minions and interns. At The Weather Network there were none of those people, the forecasters ruled the show and the presenters invariably had a background in meteorology, gained from working in the Royal Navy or with a decent degree from Reading University (the place for meteorology).
Then, one day, boss man from The Weather Channel came over from the USA. Realising that the lunatics had taken over the asylum he decided to close the whole lot down. That was the end of that, plug pulled.
The better presenters actually made good careers for themselves because the BBC had launched News 24 and needed weather presenters. So these guys got lucky and no longer had to work for the marketing people. They could actually do weather (which is more like betting on horses than anything scientific - you read the 'form' and place your bets).
Not sure what happened to the marketing folk but I am sure they have lots to say about themselves on LinkedIn.
What was unfair in the UK market was the government. In the USA if the taxpayer pays for something then it is free for the citizens to use. In the UK with the Conservative government the idea was for the Met Office to compete, giving them a huge advantage over genuine private enterprise.
This also happens more generally with the BBC. How can anyone operate a news website when the BBC do a pretty good one for free, with no adverts? It is not fair.
Anyway, I am pleased to hear that The Weather Channel are again prepared to pull the plug on lousy business propositions after giving a bit of time for things to run their course. It keeps them innovating (even if they are under different ownership now).
Two networks doing just weather launched at approximately the same time - The Weather Network and The Weather Channel. The Weather Network sold to the many cable operators that existed then (before they merged into what would eventually be rebranded into Virgin Media) and The Weather Channel paid to be on Sky - essentially a satellite operation.
The Weather Network had boxes in the cable head ends that did local weather inserts, all done by computer with some music, glorified 'pages from ceefax' mixed in with presentations from the studio for weather in the UK and internationally. The Weather Channel had no localisation.
The Weather Network offered a legit service, who doesn't want to find out what the weather is from their TV? Particularly if it does have the local details. This could be done on a budget as the partners that setup the company already had the data from forecasting for airports etc. as well as the fairly simple boxes for the cable head ends. The product sold itself and never had ambitions to be competing with the big shows on the BBC for eyeballs. It was a simple service that did what it said on the tin.
Meanwhile, The Weather Channel paid top dollar for presenters, paid to be on Sky and had quite a lot of people marketing the service. So adverts were paid for in newspapers, on the Tube trains and elsewhere. They had left the product behind so they decided to buy The Weather Network and use that tech.
So the companies merged and still the marketing hubris ruled the roost. The people with clipboards and power suits were in control, hiring more minions and interns. At The Weather Network there were none of those people, the forecasters ruled the show and the presenters invariably had a background in meteorology, gained from working in the Royal Navy or with a decent degree from Reading University (the place for meteorology).
Then, one day, boss man from The Weather Channel came over from the USA. Realising that the lunatics had taken over the asylum he decided to close the whole lot down. That was the end of that, plug pulled.
The better presenters actually made good careers for themselves because the BBC had launched News 24 and needed weather presenters. So these guys got lucky and no longer had to work for the marketing people. They could actually do weather (which is more like betting on horses than anything scientific - you read the 'form' and place your bets).
Not sure what happened to the marketing folk but I am sure they have lots to say about themselves on LinkedIn.
What was unfair in the UK market was the government. In the USA if the taxpayer pays for something then it is free for the citizens to use. In the UK with the Conservative government the idea was for the Met Office to compete, giving them a huge advantage over genuine private enterprise.
This also happens more generally with the BBC. How can anyone operate a news website when the BBC do a pretty good one for free, with no adverts? It is not fair.
Anyway, I am pleased to hear that The Weather Channel are again prepared to pull the plug on lousy business propositions after giving a bit of time for things to run their course. It keeps them innovating (even if they are under different ownership now).