Beginning August 24, the popular digital brand Weather Underground (WU) will take over The Weather Channel® with the launch of its own live show weekdays from 6-8 p.m. ET.
Weather Underground, long thought to be the geeky alternative to The Weather Channel brand, will bring its well-established, scientific and community-supported brand to life on air with its own show, also called “Weather Underground.” The program’s quirky voice will reflect the site and appeal to everyone’s inner weather geek with insights into the science behind forecasting, all within a casual setting equipped with a full bar, lounge chairs and state-of-the art 3D visual presentations.
WU’s unique community of personal weather station owners and fans will play an integral role in the show’s live, interactive experience - fans will be able to submit questions via #WUTV across social media, report current conditions in their area, contribute to the creation of show segments, access behind-the-scenes live-stream video via wunderground.com and participate in weather roundtables live on air.
The show will be hosted by Mike Bettes, an Emmy Award-winning meteorologist and storm tracker. Bettes has been covering severe weather events since he began at the network in 2003, including the 2011 Joplin tornado and the 2013 El Reno tornado. Bettes will also tap into the expertise of other severe weather experts, through forecast debates, deep dives into atmospheric science and of course, live storm coverage.
“Weather Underground has cultivated a loyal and passionate community - including more than 120,000 people who have their own personal weather stations,” said Bettes. “These are people who clearly love weather as much as we do. We wanted to feed their appetite and create a show just for them.”
“Weather Underground is already the ultimate community of hard core weather fans,” said David Clark, president of The Weather Channel, “Given where we are heading as a brand, it just makes a lot of sense to sit back and let them take over the network every day.” “The focus of ‘Weather Underground’ is to go an inch wide and a mile deep on all things weather related,” said Nora Zimmett, senior vice president, live programming for The Weather Channel.
“That’s what WU fans love, and we’re doubling down on it. It will be unlike anything the network has ever seen, but to WU fans we hope it will feel like home.”
Weather Underground became a part of The Weather Company in 2012.
