CBS News, The Weather Channel Announce Content Partnership

CBS
(Image credit: CBS)

NEW YORK and ATLANTA—CBS News is teaming up with The Weather Channel to offer enhanced weather news and information to its viewers, the two companies announced today. 

The Weather Channel will provide its Emmy Award-winning Immersive Mixed Reality (IMR) technology to give CBS News viewers a "Virtual View" into American communities' weather conditions. Originating from TWC’s Atlanta studios, its IMR technology allows viewers to visualize future weather forecasts—to see how snow, rain, floods or tornadoes can affect a community before the conditions arrive. The partnership also draws upon live reporting from meteorologists Stephanie Abrams, Jim Cantore and Mike Bettes, as well as the entire Weather Channel meteorological and newsgathering team.

(Read: How The Weather Channel Virtually Destroyed its Studio)

The Weather Channel's reports will be featured during CBS News' award-winning morning and evening newscasts, "CBS Mornings," "CBS Saturday Morning" and "CBS Evening News with Norah O'Donnell." CBS News' 24/7 digital streaming news service will also showcase regular reports from The Weather Channel. 

The CBS News investigative team and the Weather Channel's meteorological and newsgathering teams will also partner on special investigative climate reports.

"By bringing together CBS News and the Weather Channel's weather teams and virtual view technology, we will not only be able to forecast the weather but show viewers what it's really going to look like," said Neeraj Khemlani, president and co-head of CBS News and Stations. "This is a holistic partnership that brings together the scale of both companies' reporting teams, technologies and audiences. In addition to the virtual forecasts and live reporting, we will also collaborate on field reporting and pair our investigative teams to expand our environmental investigative efforts. Together we will deliver deeper coverage of one of the most important stories of our time — the impact of the climate on the communities we live in."

"This year, the Weather Channel celebrates its 40th anniversary, and there's never been a more important time to provide viewers cutting-edge visual presentations and compelling storytelling about our weather," said Byron Allen, founder, chairman and CEO of the Weather Channel's parent company, Allen Media Group."This new collaboration is designed to offer the CBS News audience the most innovative weather reporting, as well as greater reach for the Weather Channel's brand. CBS News and the Weather Channel will work closely together to explore and investigate issues related to climate and our environment."

Tom Butts

Tom has covered the broadcast technology market for the past 25 years, including three years handling member communications for the National Association of Broadcasters followed by a year as editor of Video Technology News and DTV Business executive newsletters for Phillips Publishing. In 1999 he launched digitalbroadcasting.com for internet B2B portal Verticalnet. He is also a charter member of the CTA's Academy of Digital TV Pioneers. Since 2001, he has been editor-in-chief of TV Tech (www.tvtech.com), the leading source of news and information on broadcast and related media technology and is a frequent contributor and moderator to the brand’s Tech Leadership events.