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For Sale: TWC

personally, i would think that TWC would be worth more then only $5bn...

all that advertising, and whatnot...im sure they make more then that in 1 year, but i really dont know for sure...
 
A gut feeling and a little birdie tells me the Discovery Channel Group will buy it. With them selling the travel channel a while back. it'd be a good investment for them.
 
I wonder if John Coleman would buy it back?....Or does he just laugh like every one else?....It kills me to have a moderate coverage severe event in progress, turn to the Weather Channel and see a special about skydiving or Dog training....I can see the ads now...."THE WEATHER CHANNEL IS NOW 24 HOUR HEIDI CULLEN ENVIRONMENTAL SHOWCASE STARRING JIM CANTORE"....R.I.P. TWC you've been dead a long time...
 
Doesn't surprise me.

Ever since Frank Batten left a few years ago (Frank was one of the original creators) the channel hasn't been the same.

TWC is unique amoung the cable networks because it is a private company, not publically traded. There are (were) free to make executive decisions without the approval of shareholders. Frank Batten's book on TWC is a great read, and really puts light into how Landmark communications and TWC put together a long shot, and had a great success with the idea.

As far as the cost, it basically comes down to the advertising. How much revenue do the produce with their advertising dollars.

I suspect Turner Broadcasting network might snatch them being that Wonya Lucas, General Managaer & Executive Vice Preside, has a relationship with them already (via family). One thing I'm pretty sure, they'll end up being part of a publically traded company, and most of us won't be happy with the end result.

Jason Foster, N3PRZ
www.weatherwarrior.net
 
Terry Tyler said:
personally, i would think that TWC would be worth more then only $5bn...

all that advertising, and whatnot...im sure they make more then that in 1 year, but i really dont know for sure...
Click to expand...

No, CNBC did a breakdown of their numbers and their annual revenues are only around $800 million - from three segments, TV advertising, web site and business-to-business forecasting services, in that order.

The $5 billion price tag is a very premium price - over 5x gross. The reason is that properties like this just don't come up for sale very often; kind of like the Wall Street Journal. Whoever buys it (Newscorp, General Electric (NBC) and Time-Warner were mentioned as leading candidates) will be paying up big time for an opportunity to "leverage" its resources.

With this price tag, don't expect a return to a basic weather emphasis anytime soon. On the contrary, the product will be integrated even further into tangenital content in order to continue to expand its targeted advertising strategy.
 
Guys, TWC wouldn't be successful if they were what we wanted them to be. Had they not stopped programming for the weather-saavy they would have gone bankrupt years ago. As much as we'd like them to 'return to their roots', they are in business to make money, not cater to an enthusiast minority. They do what they do now because it works. Why would they choose to lose money and viewership by changing it?

This goes back to what we've been taking about in the Discovery/WE/CourtTV threads. People just don't care about storm chasing or weather like we do, and that is why TWC is they way they are. Weather is big business because people want to know what to wear to work or if they can have their barbecue on Saturday. No one but us cares about the hows or whys.

Case in point - how many chase DVDs did you sell last year? Doing what you love doesn't always pay your mortgage.
 
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Dan Robinson said:
Guys, TWC wouldn't be successful if they were what we wanted them to be. Had they not stopped programming for the weather-saavy they would have gone bankrupt years ago. As much as we'd like them to 'return to their roots', they are in business to make money, not cater to an enthusiast minority. They do what they do now because it works. Why would they choose to lose money and viewership by changing it?

This goes back to what we've been taking about in the Discovery/WE/CourtTV threads. People just don't care about storm chasing or weather like we do, and that is why TWC is they way they are. Weather is big business because people want to know what to wear to work or if they can have their barbecue on Saturday. No one but us cares about the hows or whys.

Case in point - how many chase DVDs did you sell last year? Doing what you love doesn't always pay your mortgage.
Click to expand...

That's fine, but don't call it the "weather" channel. That's false advertising. I could care less what they show, P Allen Smith can grow tulips out his #$% for all I care, but don't mislead people who are looking for weather information that is actually helpful

I get really tired of seeing "they're a business and they're trying to make money"...that statement is always used whenever something is worthless as advertised (another example: MTV). Make your money, choke on it for all I care. But don't mislead people, just say what you are. Call it "Soccer Moms and East Coast Interests" or something. Or maybe "If you're in rural Nebraska under a tornado warning but it's sprinkling in Atlanta you're screwed". That one is pretty accurate.
 
TWC Sale and Money

Actually I think that it works the opposite way as previously posted. If the Weather Channel were to handle weather in the way that sports channels handles sports and news channels handle news, it's viewership might multiply many fold.
This means flying people out every day to the scene of anticipated intense weather and having constant live reports like they sometimes do now for snow situations.
A few years ago, they sent their own storm chasers out to the Plains and gave reports then. That is what needs to expand, not get cut off like it did.
This means having reporters available to fly to SLT RSK areas and give reports. Also on-site interesting reports like the first droughtbreaking rains (live reports) in the SE, etc.
Make it visual, experiential, and science based. Pan on the sky, show the radar, describe what's happening. How does it look, smell, feel?
One of my favorite scenes was when Jim Cantore was sent to do live coverage of an E. Mass snowstorm and a huge flash of lightning interrupted his broadcast.
Headlines like "Big Storms Expected in MO Today, Reporters Enroute" would get interest.
The increasing airplay of TV storm chaser stories is a clue that there actually is interest in this area.
In fact, with my substitute teaching job, when I tell kids that I am a professional storm chaser, there is usually alot of interest and questions, plus a frequent "Can I come along?"
Make weather interesting and exciting as sports is, and the viewership will come along.
The other issue with the Weather Channel is that they diss practically any weather that most of us like. Any Rain is "bad news", "messy", etc. and until the SE baked in the recent drought, sunshine was always "good news".
Their awful commentaries on exquisite weather turned me off a long time ago.
 
Look at all the fishing, hunting and golfing TV channels, magazines, stores and niche businesses. That's because there are enough people into those things to support it. Compare that to storm chasing. We can't even support our own print magazine that had been around since the 70's. Very few of us have made a profit from even the best of chase DVDs.

People do have a fleeting interest in chasing and weather, but it is always a passing thing. There is a difference between people thinking it's cool that you're a storm chaser when they first meet you, and that translating into a loyal fan base that will actually keep being interested in what you do, buy your DVDs, visit your web site, etc.

I've been pretty hardcore in chasing and weather for the past decade, putting a lot of effort and heart in to it. But the interest just isn't there from anyone really but the people who are on this message board. My web site and blog stats don't reflect a growing interest in weather from anyone but those inside our small circles. It's enough that I even ask myself if it's even worth continuing to maintain a site anymore.

TWC, or any new channel doing things the way we want, is nothing more than a pipe dream. It would be great, but it would be doomed to fail from the start. The business aspect just will not work with a loyal viewership consisting of a few thousand storm chasers and weather nuts. Just like all of the companies we work for every day, they have to turn a profit or no one gets a paycheck. A TV network or a business can 't pay its bills with topical purism and the goodness of their hearts. It's too bad it has to be that way, but welcome to the 'real world'.
 
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But you have to admit that something is wrong with The "Weather" Channel when the majority of people tune into CNN or Fox News to get information on breaking weather stories (hurricanes, tornadoes, etc).
 
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