The Weather Channel Launches New DTC Service: ‘The Weather Channel TV App’ With 24/7 Live Stream
The Weather Channel Launches New DTC Service: ‘The Weather Channel TV App’ With 24/7 Live Stream
Last year, Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group had announced plans to launch a new streaming service dubbed “The Weather Channel Plus” by the end of 2021. The service was meant to aggregate a 24/7 feed of The Weather Channel for $4.99 a month, along with some of the free content on Local Now like PETS.TV, COMEDY.TV, and RECIPE.TV.
However, that service never arrived.
The company has now quietly launched new service called “The Weather Channel TV App,” which is available direct-to-consumer without a cable or satellite subscription. The service has two plans: $2.99/mo. or $29.99/year ($2.49/mo. paid annually), after a 7-Day Free Trial.
The new service, at least for now, will only be available on Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Samsung Smart TV, and Xfinity Flex devices. Interestingly enough, it will not provide access on your computer, mobile device, or Apple TV (which is managed by a team outside of The Weather Channel broadcast group).
Unlike the recently shuttered CNN+, “The Weather Channel TV App,” does include a 24/7 live linear feed of The Weather Channel. In fact, the app itself is no different than their TV Everywhere App, except you can sign-up directly instead of logging in with cable or satellite credentials.
It also includes real-time weather forecasts, similar to what you would see on their website. You will also get on-demand access to original series like “Storm of Suspicion,” “Highway Thru Hell,” “Fat Guy in The Woods,” and “Deadline In Disaster.”
The app itself has three parts: “Live”, “My Weather”, and “On-Demand.”
- Live: The Weather Channel network live 24/7 or on-demand
- My Weather: Watch TWC’s linear stream alongside personalized maps of the user’s location. Customizable maps include future radar, satellite, lightning, breathing index, wind, temperature, “feels like” and active alerts.
- On-Demand: VOD library includes clips from over the air and select original programming.
For now, the app doesn’t resemble the original vision, in that it doesn’t provide content to other channels in the Allen Media Group empire – but many of the ads in the live stream promote channels like RECIPE.TV, HBCU Go, and The Grio. It is not clear whether the company will still launch “The Weather Channel Plus,” or this new service will take its place.
Last year, when the company announced their DTC plans, Byron Allen, founder, chairman and CEO of Allen Media Group said, “The Weather Channel has been voted the most-trusted news brand in America for eleven consecutive years, and the fifth most-trusted brand in America overall, which makes it the perfect brand for a direct-to-consumer streaming platform. We’ve aggregated some of the best news and entertainment content while keeping it affordable and accessible at the same time. We are highly confident that consumers will enjoy The Weather Channel Plus streaming service for decades to come.”
The Weather Channel is also available on four Live TV Streaming Services, after launching on YouTube TV earlier this year. It is also available on fuboTV, DIRECTV STREAM, and Frndly TV.