Weather Channel Launching Subscription Streaming Service

Byron Allen (Image credit: Michele Thomas Photography)

The Weather Channel, part of Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group, said it plans to launch The Weather Channel Plus, a $4.99 a month streaming subscription service.

The Weather Channel Plus will offer more than 50 news and entertainment streaming channels with "aggregated high-profile content" when it launches in the fourth quarter, Allen Media said in a release.

Allen Media Group said it projects having 30 million subscribers within five years.

Allen Media Group and The Weather Channel logo

“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,” said Allen, founder, chairman and CEO of Allen Media Group. “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.”

Allen Media Group already offers free streaming services Local Now and The Grio. Like other "plus" OTT extensions of existing networks, The Weather Channel Plus would presumably not include the linear feed of The Weather Channel.

It owns 12 TV stations, plus networks such as Pets.TV, Comedy.TV, Recipe.TV, Cars.TV, ES.TV, MyDestination.TV, Justice Central.TV, This TV and Pattrn.

Allen's move to launch Weather Channel Plus comes as Fox News Media is set to launch an ad-supported weather service during later this quarter.

Last week, Fox Weather named some of the meteorologists who will be working on the new streaming service.

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.