DirecTV rains on The Weather Channel’s parade
If you are a DirecTV customer and attempt to tune into The Weather Channel, you will now instead be greeted by WeatherNation, its replacement. Because of an unsettled dispute between the two providers TWC has been dropped from the DirecTV lineup. This is certainly not the first time we have seen a carrier drop content over contract disputes, but generally when we do it is over high demand things like ESPN, or hit shows like The Walking Dead, or Breaking Bad. So why now then are the gloves coming off between the two? As usual in a dispute like this, both sides try to make it look like it’s the others fault. The Weather Channel wasn’t mincing any words when they claimed this move by the satellite company put lives in danger by replacing their superior forecasters with what they called a “cheap startup” company. In response to that claim DirecTV points out that TWC now has reality TV accounting for half of its programming a day, and that aside their new replacement there was also local news weather and emergency channels available.
I can’t say I saw this one coming, but it really kind of makes sense. If I tune to a station called The Weather Channel, you know what I expect to see 24 hours a day no matter what time it is? You guessed it, the damn weather! Reality TV is already a poison that has destroyed once good networks. Looking at you history channel. So to see them make the decision to not pay TWC more money to sign a new contract and instead replace them with someone cheaper and with no reality shows seems like the logical thing to do.
To be honest, most people reading this probably wouldn’t have even known it was gone without seeing it posted somewhere. Everyone I know pulls out their phone and taps an app or widget to check the weather that is constantly updated. BUT! I worked in a call center when The Weather Channel went digital and required getting a box to still get it. I can not even repeat some of the obscenities literally screamed at me over the phone as a result. I can assure you there are some older folks who will be supremely pissed off by this decision as well. To any of you who may be taking the related calls in call center right now, you have my condolences.
Ben Johnson
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