CBS News has made a deal with the Weather Channel, which will provide on-air talent and reporting for the network’s morning and evening newscasts.
The partnership announced Monday by the companies will give CBS News access to the Weather Channel’s team of well-known meteorologists Stephanie Abrams, Jim Cantore and Mike Bettes. The Weather Channel’s “Virtual View” technology, which digitally visualizes forecast conditions, will also be used.
“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.
Content from the Weather Channel, owned by Allen Media Group, will be used on “CBS Mornings,” which has long been the only broadcast network morning show not to have its own dedicated meteorologist. The network depended largely on weather forecasters from CBS stations to provide reports.
The Weather Channel’s reporting will also appear on “CBS Evening News With Norah O’Donnell” and on the CBS News Streaming platform. The two organizations will also collaborate on investigative stories related to climate.
Terms of the partnership were not disclosed. It’s the latest move by a media company to step up its weather coverage, which is still considered an essential service to TV viewers.
Fox News Media recently launched Fox Weather, a full-time meteorological forecasting service that streams through an app. It is also available as a linear over-the-air TV channel in cities across the country where Fox Corp. owns TV stations. AccuWeather, which has supplied forecasts to consumers, media outlets and corporations since 1962 and has ramped up its own cable channel, recently launched a video streaming service called AccuWeather Now.
The Weather Channel, a staple of cable and satellite TV systems for 40 years, previously partnered with a larger network when it was owned by NBCUniversal. Allen Media Group, led by mogul Byron Allen, acquired the channel in 2018 for $300 million.
