
Weather - The Weather Channel
Global provider of weather data, forecasting, and insights.
Date | Investors | Amount | Round |
---|---|---|---|
- | N/A | - | |
Total Funding | 000k |
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The Weather Company is a technology firm that provides weather forecasting and information services. It owns and operates weather.com and Weather Underground. The company's history began with The Weather Channel, a cable channel founded by television meteorologist John Coleman and Frank Batten, then-president of Landmark Communications, on July 18, 1980. The channel officially launched on May 2, 1982, from its headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. Coleman, who had been a forecaster for Good Morning America and was an early adopter of technologies like chromakey for weathercasting, was forced out as president and CEO after the first year.
The business model is multifaceted, primarily revolving around data collection, dissemination, and monetization. A major revenue stream is advertising on its high-traffic digital properties, including its website and mobile apps. The company also generates significant B2B income by licensing its extensive weather data and providing bespoke analytics to industries like aviation, energy, insurance, media, government, and retail. This is complemented by enterprise solutions and data APIs that allow businesses to integrate weather intelligence into their operations. A subscription model for premium, ad-free features on its consumer apps adds another layer to its revenue.
The company has undergone several ownership changes. In 2008, a consortium of NBC Universal, Bain Capital, and Blackstone Group purchased the company. In 2012, the parent entity rebranded from "The Weather Channel" to "The Weather Company" to reflect its expanding digital product lineup. IBM acquired most of The Weather Company's assets, including its digital platforms and data, in a deal finalized in January 2016, with plans to integrate the technology with its Watson AI platform. The television network, The Weather Channel, was not part of the IBM acquisition and was later sold to Byron Allen's Entertainment Studios (now Allen Media Group) in 2018. In August 2023, IBM announced the sale of The Weather Company's assets to private equity firm Francisco Partners, a transaction that was completed in February 2024.
Keywords: weather forecasting, meteorological data, weather analytics, data licensing, advertising solutions, consumer weather apps, enterprise weather solutions, weather.com, Weather Underground, API services, media, aviation, energy sector, insurance data, government solutions, predictive analytics, climate intelligence, data monetization