It seems that DirecTV and Weather Channel both needed each other. Despite the drop of the network 3 months ago and the launch of a competitive weather service, DirecTV still felt the pressure to relaunch The Weather Channel. It came with a price cut and concessions on programming of the network, as well as TV Everywhere access, but a deal got done. So my question is why?
I question the deal not because Weather Channel doesn't offer programming that appeals to a weather minded audience, but that it could be easily replaced with another channel called Weather Nation and consumers could still access weather content online. Also when weather becomes the news, all the news channels carry weather reports. So why did DirecTV negotiate a renewal agreement? Here are the possibilities:
1) DirecTV was feeling pressure from consumers for the drop of the network and consumers were dropping DirecTV for alternative cable service.
2) The Weather Channel's minority owner NBC Universal was involved behind the scenes and some leverage was used for negotiation.
3) The launch of the morning weather show starring Sam Champion, although not a rating winner, demonstrated important and unique programming that DirecTV felt compelled to carry.
4) The need for added value to its subscribers with an agreement that gave DirecTV users access to content inside and outside the home on mobile devices.
5) The deal was so cheap and came with "marketing incentives" to help the bottom line.
Any or all of these reasons may have been the rationale for The Weather Channel relaunching on DirecTV. Regardless, subscribers will once again get access to their programming.
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