Weather channel airing movies ??

  • Thread starter Thread starter Jim Zandonai
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I purchased a 10' satellite dish (early 80's) simply because I wanted to see TWC. The small town in which I live did not install cable until the mid 80's. It was GREAT! I couldn't believe the amount of weather information I had at my finger tips. I was happy to be able to see a good friend of mine (Vince Miller) on the air again. Those were the good old days.
 
Kevin Walters said:
I purchased a 10' satellite dish (early 80's) simply because I wanted to see TWC.
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BUD=Big Ugly Dish...LOL.


I'm all for movies on TWC. Frankly the channel is useless for weather...I can find wx forecasts and everything else on the internet (or an app if I had an iphone). A TV weather channel is almost obsolete and I applaud them for thinking outside the box. It cost a lot of money to run a cable network and now being part of NBC (and NBC might become part of Comcast), they have got to pull their weight.

While I will treasure the days of old, I frankly lost interest as soon as the internet came around...more efficient, more specific, better graphics, etc. Hell, for that matter, I think cable networks with scheduled programs is going to be obsolete before you know it. Competition from on-demand services is really starting to take a chunk of the scheduled media.
 
I consider DR. Forbes and Lyons indispensable members of TWC.
I like their simple explinations of complex events.

Maybe -just maybe- Hollywood should make some more weather movies that are accurate. Not like 'Twister' - although we mat enjoy the movie for what it is. I mean - something that is scientifically accurate and still sells the movie with all the drama that weather does 'force'. Surely all of the CGI that Hollywood has available can easily brought to bear and make the movie stand on its own - if it is researched well enough and gets enough input from weather pros.

Even if they made six movies such as this, it wouldn't help TWC. They need to reorganize and make that channel 'weather' times of poor ratings or periods of time that aren't weather relevent (read 'boring')...
 
TWC was already long on its way down. But when they got rid of Dave Schwartz, that was the last straw for me. At 3am, that dude would say some of the funniest stuff...and still actually cover something weather-related! I miss good ole Dave...and the folks who replaced him??? Ugh! Yeah, I stopped watching TWC for weather a long time ago. Now I'll only turn it on to see a chase highlight clip of the day from Verne or some other chaser I'm friends with... Or perhaps if Storm Stories covers an event I was a part of. :(
 
If you are feeling nostalgic you can go here for a fix of some classic TWC. Otherwise, RIP The Weather Channel. I am wondering how the metamorphosis will progress. Will it be as dramatic as The Nashville Network becoming Spike TV? (IMHO the only improvement of the lot) Or will it be more subtle like Court TV's transition to Real TV?

A suggested name:
Air, Sea, & Sky TV
 
The reality is that TWC really doesn't have much value in the internet age. To the eyes of regular people (i.e. non-meteorology, non-chasing), it is much easier to obtain the information they want, when they want, be it from NOAA, AccuWeather, WeatherBug, or whoever. And if there is a severe weather event, they are not going to watch TWC. They are going to watch the local stations. So, IMO, the value of TWC is almost completely gone at this stage.
 
Paul Austin said:
TWC was already long on its way down. But when they got rid of Dave Schwartz, that was the last straw for me. At 3am, that dude would say some of the funniest stuff...and still actually cover something weather-related! I miss good ole Dave...and the folks who replaced him??? Ugh! Yeah, I stopped watching TWC for weather a long time ago. Now I'll only turn it on to see a chase highlight clip of the day from Verne or some other chaser I'm friends with... Or perhaps if Storm Stories covers an event I was a part of. :(
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Yeah, David Schwartz was great. You never knew what he was going to say. Once, he even introduced himself as Regis Philbun with a pretty good imitation of Regis too. That was my 2nd all time favorite moments of TWC. The first being when Dr. Greg forbes did the lightning dance. Dr.Greg Forbes is the main reason I would watch it now.
 
I don't know what the big deal is here. I work for TWC and think it's a great idea to air weather related movies. What weather fan wouldn't want to watch weather related movies?? - it's only for 2 1/2 hours on friday nights....no big deal.
 
If TWC was only doing that for 2 1/2 hours a week, there wouldn't be any big deal. The problem is that TWC's programming is increasingly becoming based on prerecorded entertainment shows rather than detailed live weather information as it has been in the past. This has had a lot of people turning away from TWC during emergencies when they should be able to tune in for the information they need, and that is a VERY BIG deal. It's an especially big and bad deal when people who are in harm's way can't get life saving information due to a 2 1/2 hour weathertainment programming window. Remember, not all TWC viewers have the red screen to warn them and many are dependent on cut ins. Between that, and the incessant environmentalist talk, it's no wonder people are turning away.

No matter what the focus groups or surveys say, detailed current and forecast weather information is exactly what gave TWC its unique place among hard core severe weather fans, including many of us here. Unfortunately for TWC's new management, some weather fans may not want to see a movie that they already have on video, or have already seen on a pay movie channel. TWC's managers seem to have forgotten the very real infotainment value in watching an actual live severe weather outbreak unfold on live TV. This is the type of weathertainment that has always driven viewers to TWC in droves because it also saves lives in the process, which is something a movie can't do.

KatieVanfleet said:
I don't know what the big deal is here. I work for TWC and think it's a great idea to air weather related movies. What weather fan wouldn't want to watch weather related movies?? - it's only for 2 1/2 hours on friday nights....no big deal.
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Yeah, it's not the weather channel anymore. It's the "entertainment and gardening channel" as of the past few years. It just seems that the wx channel isn't keen on weather like it once was. When a severe wx event is ongoing, the wx channel would be the last place I would go to get my info.

I've seen this scenario before...A tornadic storm is about to go through a town in the central plains and the on air met is talking about the UV index. Who gives a crap about the UV index when a possible tornado is about to go through a town.
 
Damon Poole said:
This has had a lot of people turning away from TWC during emergencies when they should be able to tune in for the information they need, and that is a VERY BIG deal. It's an especially big and bad deal when people who are in harm's way can't get life saving information due to a 2 1/2 hour weathertainment programming window.
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Very good points Damon but just an FYI, TWC will continue to deliver local forecasts throughout each film and severe alerts when appropriate! Just like we have the ability to interrupt Storm Stories and other long form programming in the afternoon if a severe event occurs, this can be done at any time.
 
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