The Weather Channel

[popo79941]

I hate AccuWeather.......how come customers did not have a choice or a vote to keep The Weather Channel???? AccuWeather stinks, there are no REAL stories nor do the show any weather people out in the field......this is the worst, I watch the weather channel everyday. I might just think about changing my service to someone who has The Weather Channel!!! I hate this.....ugh !

[Shiloh63]

It's been 5 months now since Verizon dropped the Weather Channel.... in that time, we've had several severe storms, not to mention several Tornado warnings that Accuweather said nothing about, and currently we are in the middle of Hurricane Season with only Accuweather to rely on.    Really great move by the idiot (who should be fired) at Verizon that decided that no one watches the Weather Channel any more and that their programing consisted mainly of "Reality Programs".  Verizon should take a long hard look at all the other channels in their channel lineup they provide that are showing these same programs and dump them also.  At least when there was a major weather event happening, The Weather Channel would pre-empty their programing and provide round the clock coverage on these events.  I was recently in Kentucky and Kansas for business (July and August 2015) and it was a blessing that the Hotel's we stayed in had the Weather Channel in their cable line up with all the severe weather both states were having during those times.    Thanks for nothing Verizon.   

[CRobGauth]

Keep in mind a couple of things:

1) Verizon has stats as to what channels people are watching. So somone didn't just pull it out of thin air.

2) It was not just a Verizon unilateral decision. It came down to price. Just like it has for the other providers that have dropped TWC (they did eventually come to terms). I will be intersted to see how thing progress as time goes on. I have read several articles that have said that the ratings for TWC have dropped (more than just from losing Verizon).

[mbrkelley]

We don't miss TWC, but we REALLY miss Weatherscan on Channel 49 with its live radar.  We used that several times a day.  It was very helpful when being outdoors to check if any bad weather was on the way.  Not everyone has a smart phone nor keeps his computer on 24/7.  When you're working outside, it isn't convenient to go into the house, climb the stairs to the computer, turn it on, and wait for it to boot up.  Weatherscan was SO convenient.  Would have been nice if Verizon could've negotiated a price with TWC to keep Weatherscan.

[bobbo527]

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@mbrkelley wrote:

We don't miss TWC, but we REALLY miss Weatherscan on Channel 49 with its live radar.  We used that several times a day.  It was very helpful when being outdoors to check if any bad weather was on the way.  Not everyone has a smart phone nor keeps his computer on 24/7.  When you're working outside, it isn't convenient to go into the house, climb the stairs to the computer, turn it on, and wait for it to boot up.  Weatherscan was SO convenient.  Would have been nice if Verizon could've negotiated a price with TWC to keep Weatherscan.

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Agreed!!! Weatherscan is the only part of the Weather channel I miss.

[KYak1]

I am one of many that agree that the AccuWeather station is a very poor substute for The Weather Channel.  I spend time ou of state and have The weather Channel in PA.  It gave me confidence in what wa happening to my area while I was away. In addition, it shows the true local weather.  It is a shame that Verizon has gone so "cheaply" when we are paying the bill.

[tns2]

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@KYak wrote:

I am one of many that agree that the AccuWeather station is a very poor substute for The Weather Channel.  I spend time ou of state and have The weather Channel in PA.  It gave me confidence in what wa happening to my area while I was away. In addition, it shows the true local weather.  It is a shame that Verizon has gone so "cheaply" when we are paying the bill.

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It was never meant to be as substitute.  The decision was first made to drop The Weather Channel.  THen as a separate deal Accuweather offered their service and a low price.

[CDR60]

If Verizon got an unrefusable deal from Accuweather because the cost was so amazingly low then this is a clear case of "you get what you pay for."   My next question then is, "What did Verizon do with the savings?"   I am lucky enough to have a choice three cable providers (not counting satellite options):  Verizon, Comcast, and RCN.   I have had tried all three at the same address.  Cost-wise, Verizon and Comcast are close in price around here, almost "six of one, half-dozen of the other." RCN is the  underdog and arguably cheaper than Verizon and Comcast but not as reliable as the other "Big Two."   Now, if underdog RCN can poney up for The Weather Channel, and Comcast doesn't charge appreciably more and gives both Weather Channel and Weatherscan (I don't see Weatherscan in my local RCN lineup, only Weather Channel,) on a similar tier that Verizon did,  then somebody other than we, as Verizon customers, are making out on this deal.

I suspect that Verizon was planning this deal for some time and had made up their mind long before March of 2015.   I suspect that Accuweather wanted to mimic the Weather Channel and was working on a project to directly compete with them, getting it done in time for a minimal offering and brokered a deal with Verizon to purvey the Accuweather product.   Competetion isn't always a bad thing and this could have given the Weather Channel a real run for their money and worked out much in the favor of Verizon customers if the new Accuweather product offered the same features in a better way or at least equal, especially if they had managed to roll out a competing product aimed at Weatherscan and did better with localized "minutecasts"  but it was hardly an acceptable subtitute for what we had with the Weather Channel.  I paid no real attention to the new Channel 619 for nine months after seeing how lousy it was, but this week noticed that Accuweather has tried to localize the "minutecast" a little bit better but they still seem to favor the Northeast with the main broadcasts and these new "minutecasts, while local, are too many in number.   It was a step in the right direction, even so, and the channel is a bit more watchable now.   Accuweather needs to give a good radar channel like Weatherscan.   The Weatherbug widget is pretty much useless and the radar doesn't move.   It's not possible to determine the path of impending storms.

Maybe Accuweather will improve as time goes on -- it looks like the Weather Channel will never come back.   If Accuweather comes up with a really good, comparible sets of products and the loose the widget, okay.

I am upset with Verizon, none the less.  We get less off a product with no break on the price and Verizon gets to save some money.   I might not have been upset if the loss of the Weather Channel meant a reduction on my bill.   I also find the "people get weather from other places" a bit insulting and presumptious.  If such were true,and perhaps it is, they wouldn't have bothered with replacing the Weather Channel with anything, and they could cut back on news and sports channels since many I know get their news and watch the game highlights or get scores and on their smart phones.   I, for one, do not have a smart phone so I am "not one of them" whoever "them" is.  I get the "crumbs" they decided to throw at me with Accuweaher.   I guess, in that sense, I am not part of the Verizon Community so I will think long and hard when the Verizon contract comes up for renewal.   I do have a NOAA NWS weather radio which is another alternative.

[CRobGauth]

So I happen to be travelling and the hotel had TWC.

lineup for tonight -

8pm - Weather Gone VIral

9pm - Natural Born Monsters - Brazilian Monster Spider

10pm - Natural Born Monsters - The Legendary Megalania

At least the first program is weather related.

We didn't get a cost reduction when TWC went away, but we also haven't gotten any price increases when other content has increased.

Made me realize why I didn't watch TWC much anyway.

[silverado4x4]

Well from what I have read the TWC is in big financial trouble and heading down and they started showing these shows to bring in money to stay a float. You know its bad at TWC when there are 2 people that use to be on TWC that are now on Weathernation.

As I said before TWC got way to big for there pants and are now paying for it. TWC doesnt show as near as much weather anymore its all about programs because they bring in money. I think Verizon did the smart thing by dumping them and TWC is not going to be around long UNLESS they get there act together.

[NJgurl]

As of the New Year I will be cancelling my Verizon contract with FIOS and going back to Optimum. They will pay for my cancellation fees and I will have my WEATHER CHANNEL back!! I always looked to Verizon for the best and they gave me a below grade weather station. SHAME ON YOU VERIZON for giving your customers less that the best!!

Good bye!!

[CRobGauth]

So what was it that made you switch to Verizon from Optimum?

And did they fix that issue or was it not as bad as having TWC?

Its always been said that people need to vote with their wallets.

I just don't see switching carriers for one channel.

But that is just my opinion.

[silverado4x4]

I would bet that 98% of the people say they are going to switch to another cable company dont do it, all talk. Go look up the weather channel there in real problems and hanging on a very thin thread financially and thats the reason they started showing all those programs to bring in money.

I think Verizon did the smart thing and dumped TWC because its falling down, once TWC is no longer the price to go to accuweather or weathernation is going to be alot higher for other companys to join but Verizon will be at the lower contract price already, smart move on there part.

[swampfoxmr]

That doesn't make Accuweather an acceptable solution. It is really just talking heads spouting what is on NOAA. No detail analysis of weather like TWC.

When there are tornadoes in TX, AR, LLA, KA, or TN where I have family there is no detail tracking of the tornadoes and no ongoing warnings like TWC. Just talking heads happily spoiting whats on the teleprompter.

When there are hurricanes, like Joaquin there are no detailed analysis or ongoing warnings. Just talking heads happily spoiting whats on the teleprompter.

When there are winter storms up here in the NE, no detailed analysis of the storm or ongoing warnings. Just talking heads happily spoiting whats on the teleprompter.

NECN has better weather than Accuweather.

No people on the ground in areas where the storms are, just talking heads happily spoiting whats on the teleprompter.

Accuweather doesn't even show up on the channel guide and I have new FiOS boxes.

I don't know why you think TWC is so bad when Accuweather is absolutely the pits!

[swampfoxmr]

I have FiOS for the Internet not TV. I really don't like FiOS TV and I especially don't like Accuweather. I have children and grandchildren all over the country and when there are Tornadoes or hurricanes in the southern states I miss the detailed analysis on TWC. When there are winter storms up here in the NE I miss the detailed analysis of the storms.

What you get with Accuweather is nothing more than talking heads in front of a green screen reading off of a teleprompter. A trained monkey could do it.

Accuweather is simply pitiful and every time there is bad weather I want to switch? But it is hard to switch because of the internet.

The number of ongoing posts on this subject tells me that Verizon is not really concerned about what their customers want. 

[CRobGauth]

Verizon based their decision (from what they said) on two things:

Viewership and cost

They felt that for the number of viewers, the cost did not justify it.

They made their decision. We as customers get to make ours.

We can stay with them or move to another provider.

[NermalGirl]

CRobGauth, you must work for Verizon because every answer you give is nothing but support for their poor decision, and includes the same old instructions on what to do with the "Kudos" and "Accepted Solution" buttons. (And I so wish they also had a "Thumbs Down" button!) So chew on this...

With thousands of complaints (and the sudden drop in Verizon stock value the day after they dropped The Weather Channel), I would say you are so wrong. Viewers are still yelling to get TWC back. Also, according to TWC's web site at the time, they were blindsided by the decision. They had offered Verizon a better deal than what was in place, and were waiting for Verizon to respond. Rather than responding, Verizon just dropped TWC - flat - no notice at all. (But all of us customers got an e-mail from Verizon letting us know about it; it happened so fast they didn't even have time to put up a notice in the Message Center warning us they were going to drop it. That in itself is **bleep**-poor customer service. And you're sticking up for that?)

Verizon stock has continued on the decline since TWC went away. It used to be higher than Comcast; now Comcast is far outpacing Verizon. With so many people demanding Verizon bring back TWC and TWC's offering a better deal, your claim that there isn't enough viewership for theh cost to carry TWC is unfounded. TWC offers Verizon a better deal; Verizon drops TWC without notice to either customers or TWC; Verizon stock plummets far below Comcast the day after, and continues to go down as people continue demanding TWC's return. This leads one to believe that far more people were watching TWC, and are leaving Verizon than you think.

[tns2]

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@NermalGirl wrote:

CRobGauth, you must work for Verizon because every answer you ...

No.  CL's like CROBAUTH and myself do not work for Verizon.  I forget what he said he does.  Myself I am a retired Systems Programmer from the Banking industry.

We do try and offer help and in cases like this explanations.  For this kind of issue, it does us no good to complain.  Verizon made its decision and is not that likely to change it.

[CRobGauth]

Couple of things:

1) I do not work for Verizon. All I try to do is provide whatever info I have (and sometimes opinion) as to what people ask/complain about.

2) I checked. Yes Verizon stock dropped the day TWC going away was announced. But within 10 days it was as high as it was before the drop.

3) Verizon FIOS makes up only a small percentage of the total networth of Verizon the company. Most of it is wireless. So it is hard to compare stock performance of the two companies by saying they are in the same business. Comcast has other businesses as well including local sports channels.

4) My opinion: Business is different these days. Smaller cable channels are not going to given the same chance as the have in the past. With the number of subscribers cutting the cord, cable companies can't afford to keep low viewership channels. As I had said before, there are fixed costs. As subscribers leave, the cost ber subscriber increases. Given that many people have contracts, companies have two choices: absorb the costs or cut channels. Given that they are beholden more to investors than subscribers, they drop content.

5) Never said I was sticking up for it. Just trying to bring my version of reality. I don't like it when shows I like get dropped. But when I see low ratings, I understand the reason. Understanding does not imply agreement.

[bobbo527]

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@NermalGirl wrote:

CRobGauth, you must work for Verizon because every answer you give is nothing but support for their poor decision, and includes the same old instructions on what to do with the "Kudos" and "Accepted Solution" buttons. (And I so wish they also had a "Thumbs Down" button!) So chew on this...

With thousands of complaints (and the sudden drop in Verizon stock value the day after they dropped The Weather Channel), I would say you are so wrong. Viewers are still yelling to get TWC back. Also, according to TWC's web site at the time, they were blindsided by the decision. They had offered Verizon a better deal than what was in place, and were waiting for Verizon to respond. Rather than responding, Verizon just dropped TWC - flat - no notice at all. (But all of us customers got an e-mail from Verizon letting us know about it; it happened so fast they didn't even have time to put up a notice in the Message Center warning us they were going to drop it. That in itself is **bleep**-poor customer service. And you're sticking up for that?)

Verizon stock has continued on the decline since TWC went away. It used to be higher than Comcast; now Comcast is far outpacing Verizon. With so many people demanding Verizon bring back TWC and TWC's offering a better deal, your claim that there isn't enough viewership for theh cost to carry TWC is unfounded. TWC offers Verizon a better deal; Verizon drops TWC without notice to either customers or TWC; Verizon stock plummets far below Comcast the day after, and continues to go down as people continue demanding TWC's return. This leads one to believe that far more people were watching TWC, and are leaving Verizon than you think.

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Sorry NermalGirl but I agree with CRob and TNS. If you're so dissatisfied why aren't you dropping Verizon? And as for those "thousands" of people complaining, unless they are dropping the service, and almost all are not, it will not have any affect on Verizon's decision.

I personally have no problem with them dropping TWC, the channel had gotten away from it's core values and was showing more and more garbage tv shows that had nothing to do with the actual weather. The ONLY thing I miss is weatherscan, I did use that daily.

And no I do NOT work for Verizon, nor does anyone else in my family. I'm just a customer. 

[dcoltonbrown]

Perhaps the OP doesn't drop Verizon because they make you sign a contract?  

[bobbo527]

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@dcoltonbrown wrote:

Perhaps the OP doesn't drop Verizon because they make you sign a contract?  

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Maybe they do, but not everyone is under contract. I've been out of contract since 2013 and have been month to month since then. A lot of people are month to month.