Weather channel airing movies ??

  • Thread starter Thread starter Jim Zandonai
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Dan Robinson said:
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. Their programming decisions are based on what is proven to attract the most viewers, not what will impress people like us. I don't like it, but that's the way it is. TV news viewership has been on the decline for a long time, so you can probably expect more of these types of moves to clamor for what's left of a dying industry.

This goes back to a brutal truth that needs said time and time again - 99% of 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. Until we start paying for TWC's electric bill and staff salaries, it's not gonna change.

Case in point - how many chase DVDs did you sell last year? Doing what you love doesn't always pay your mortgage. You can't blame TWC for making concessions to stay alive in what has become an impossible business to be in.
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Thank goodness, some positive sensibility. I've been a TWC viewer since long before I knew a thing about wx or even lived in the Midwest for that matter. Having participated in the forums several years ago, I think TWC has come a long way in addressing programming issues like pre-empting of shows during significant events as well as including local forecast insets which I am guessing is a Weatherstar improvement. I hope the inclusion of weather related movies and other programming not produced by TWC will be a welcome change to the countless reruns of Storm Stories that we have to endure during the Winter when really there isn't squat going on. Faulting TWC for not pre-empting just because your town is being mauled by a meso is wrong because 99.99% of the rest of the country is most likely doing just fine and does not need it. Local events require local coverage and TWC is not big brother with the ability to be all places at once nor is it their responsibility. You get a synopsis as does everyone else and from that, you base your decisions. If local coverage is an issue for anyone then that needs to be dealt with at home with the local networks. There is probably no better means by which to get real time local info than with a NOAA weather radio and the wise move would be to put your trust in that and enjoy TWC for what it is, an all-around weather information, education and entertainment station. This isn't to say I'm some TWC groupie per say, they should have never gotten rid of Paul Kocin or Dave Schwartz.
 
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This is exactly the point. Very well put!


Justin Wiley said:
I agree with Joe and many of the other sentiments here. How many seconds go by before I see a freaking Wake Up with Al promo? It's so annoying.

First it was Storm Stories for a 30 minute block a few years ago.. and now there are 2 and a half hour movies that are playing BACK to BACK (so make that 5 hours) of movies on the freaking Weather Channel. Doesn't even make sense. Some people actually like to come home and see what weather is going on around the country (hence the name The Weather Channel).

The core product, although simple, was perfect. It has now been diluted with crap that eventually will pull in a handful of new viewers, but in turn, will create a mass exodus of its long-time loyal viewers. You don't try and fix something that's not broken.

R.I.P. TWC.

P.S. - I miss Dave too. Funniest dude ever!
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They dont care about the hardcore loyal weather nerds as viewers. What they need are enough every day viewers to be able to survive and get paid. In todays day and age we can see what weather is going on from our PCs. Fire up GR3 and tune into any local news stations stream. The weather channel was once the go to source for national weather. It isn't like that anymore.

They're just competing with the times and sticking with the trends.
 
Plus with the addition of such channels as "weather scan" or whatever they are called on your new digital channels. 2-4, 5-2, and 7-3 are all weather channels on my TV. Where one just scrolls through National weather and cities forecasts, one is just my local radar with live conditions from my surrounding towns, and the other alternates between local and nationwide. With channels like these, the "local on the eights" is pretty much useless for those that have digital capabilities. As I said before in my previous post, if I get bored and it's snowing out and don't feel like going out this winter on a Friday night, I might see what is playing and watch it....
 
Another good point Adam, but it goes beyond that. Also, as far as Dan's comment, "Until we start paying for TWC's electric bill and staff salaries, it's not gonna change.", we do pay for those bills and salaries through cable and web subscriptions and through buying the products they advertise. The reason the national TV news industry is in the tank is due to too much of the same type of sensationalistic crap they say they need to "survive". The audience eventually becomes alienated with it and turns away in droves. The balloon boy story was a perfect example. When the management of these channels finally realize that there is an equal or larger audience that demands basic high quality information without a bunch of fluff, is when things will finally change. Until then, Paul, Adam and Danny are all right, listen to your local sources like NOAA Weather Radio and local TV and radio, and surf the internet. Vote with your remote and send these guys a message. That's not being negative, that's being realistic.



Adam Lucio said:
They dont care about the hardcore loyal weather nerds as viewers. What they need are enough every day viewers to be able to survive and get paid. In todays day and age we can see what weather is going on from our PCs. Fire up GR3 and tune into any local news stations stream. The weather channel was once the go to source for national weather. It isn't like that anymore.

They're just competing with the times and sticking with the trends.
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Five votes so far for Dave Schwartz! Bring back the Schwartzenegger! Save TWC! :D

In all seriousness, perhaps, if TWC execs are intent on making the network an infotainment station, a little commentary along with the programming could make it at least a little more palatable. I haven't watched, so I don't know what the programming has looked like. But I could envision something like "The Perfect Storm" with a little realistic weather-lite commentary ala "Dinner and a Movie". I don't know that I would tune in, but the general public might be swayed to watch a movie it could see anywhere else, if some nuggets of truth or trivia were injected at commercial breaks. Dispelling myths and lack of realism in movies such as "Twister" might find an audience. I can't even count how many times people have asked me if cows really fly through the air the way it is portrayed in the movie. The general public might finally get those "I always wondered about that" questions answered. At least something like that would make the movies semi-relevant.

Personally, I like the original mission that everyone said would never fly. But in this economy, I guess you gotta do what you gotta do to survive. I'll take the internet for my info. As for the weatherscan channels, I'm not sure they're widely available. We don't have anything like that here (Gainesville, FL - perhaps they're available in metro areas), unless you're talking about satellite.
 
It would also be cool if they had a special segment that went over how that storm came to be.

Perhaps Im not upset because I almost never watch TWC. The other day was the first time I turned it on in years and that was only to see the CTV streams and video. Hopefully they dont go to commercials every 30 seconds during the movie like they did with the live severe weather broadcast.
 
The problem for me at lease is that 1) I have yet to find a radio which claims to have NOAA radio to actually work (I don't have the money to get a good one that my grandma has at her farm/I have yet to see a actual NOAA weather radio for sale :/, but yes I do use noaa.gov a lot). 2) the local forecasts in my area are CRAP. The radar image from their feed will show that there will be rain soon, yet they will say that the day will be a sunny day with no rain, and vice versa (and I am not talking about isolated showers). So if I want to get the weather on TV my choices for a good prediction would be TWC either via TWC it's self or their weather scan channel.
Damon Poole said:
Another good point Adam, but it goes beyond that. Also, as far as Dan's comment, "Until we start paying for TWC's electric bill and staff salaries, it's not gonna change.", we do pay for those bills and salaries through cable and web subscriptions and through buying the products they advertise. The reason the national TV news industry is in the tank is due to too much of the same type of sensationalistic crap they say they need to "survive". The audience eventually becomes alienated with it and turns away in droves. The balloon boy story was a perfect example. When the management of these channels finally realize that there is an equal or larger audience that demands basic high quality information without a bunch of fluff, is when things will finally change. Until then, Paul, Adam and Danny are all right, listen to your local sources like NOAA Weather Radio and local TV and radio, and surf the internet. Vote with your remote and send these guys a message. That's not being negative, that's being realistic.
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I vote for Schwartz as well. When he was working overnights, I would get up and watch him because he not only described what the weather was doing without hype, but some of his schtick was hilarious. I got to listen to an interview he did on a WeatherBrains podcast in February of this year and it is good to see someone as humble as he is, land on his feet again.
 
Well, now I'm really frustrated with TWC. With almost no promotion and a very irregular schedule, Tornado Road was doomed to flop before it ever aired. I viewed the first two episodes on that first Sunday night, got confused with the schedule, tried to catch the remaining episodes using the online listing (weather.com), and still couldn't catch the show. Unless I'm completely losing it, the listings changed from day to day. And I checked the dates, not just the day of the week. Now the show doesn't even appear in the listings. Now I know I can probably catch them online, but the video quality won't be as good, and with this type of loose and unpredictable programming, how can any network, especially one trying to add movies and other entertainment, survive? Perhaps I totally misread the listings, but if someone who is actually looking for a particular show has difficulty catching it, how can anyone follow such a schedule? IMHO, Forbes is about all TWC still has going for it. I don't even really care for Lyons all that much. Truth be told, shows like Tornado Road and an occasional Storm Stories of particular interest to me are about the only reason I ever tune in to TWC anymore. So my opinion doesn't really matter that much anyway. [/rant]

RIP, old friend, RIP. (Here, I am referring to the Weather Channel of old I grew up watching and loving.)
 
Wow what a topic..it's obvious we here would all like the TWC of old to re-appear in a modern fashion but the truth is and what has been said is true in that we are the minorty here. The majority of watchers around the nation could care less if RFD is under a severe T-storm warning or worse. Yes you'll get a little more interest in a big Severe WX day in the plains or a massive snowstorm over a large area but many around the country want to know what THEIR weather will be. The channel isnt geared for us here. When in the Summer my Girlfriend ask me if it was going to rain one night..and some severe WX was likely..of course I went into details and she says just tell me the answer is it going to rain ? lol. So that's the General public. As also said before TWC needs many viewers,ratings,money,advertising etc. They are trying to do one thing increase viewership and keep ratings up. The same things every other channel does..they want tons of viewers. That's why they went the HGTV route before..trying to gain many general viewers. The more popular a channel is the more they can charge an advertiser.
What would really be neat (and I think someone said this) is if TWC could do a TWC2. Specifically designed for people like us that would really get into the Tech end etc. and have guys like Forbes and Lyons on THAT channel. The Channel would have to be a put in a special package however so people would have to subscribe to it..as it would never survive otherwise.
Ever watch AMC and there is a commerical every 10 min. Advertising pays for the channel. Watch Encore..no commercials..people pay for it in their subscription or a part of an add on cable package etc.
Of course I doubt this will ever happen but it would really be neat to see a modern,technical weather channel like we all would like to see..a no B.S source of info..even then though there would have to be a rather large following.. hmmmmmm
 
Hmm, yeah, I saw the advertising for Perfect Storm. It does remind me of MTV not playing music anymore. How many good weather-related movies are there anyway? Maybe I'm wrong but it seems like they'd become awfully repetitive if they were to start showing movies regularly.
 
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