The Slow Decline of The Weather Channel
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- Опубликовано: 1 май 2024
- Due to the rise of cord cutting and the ability to check the weather at any time on phones and other devices, The Weather Channel has become more redundant over the years unless they are covering a major storm event such as a hurricane or tornado outbreak.
Over the years, even more reality shows having little to no tie to the weather or nature whatsoever have been added to the lineup as filler programming whenever TWC was not showing live coverage. Not to mention competitors such as WeatherNation also reporting on the weather 24 hours a day without any filler programming, but the downside being late night and early mornings using footage that was taped prior.
Even though the 2013 Rebrand "Weather All The Time" or "It's Amazing Out There" was full of life and revitalized TWC's image, the graphics and local forecast were totally downgraded and this was the beginning of the end for TWC. The “America’s #1 Weather Network” slogan they briefly used around 2019-2020 wasn’t bad, but was abandoned too quickly in favor of "Get into the out there" which pushed reality programming even more, resulting in TWC slipping even more into channel decay.
Another topic tackled in this video is that the reality shows like Highway Thru Hell and FAST: Home Rescue are aired way too much during primetime, meanwhile the quality longform documentary-style shows actually having to do with weather are reduced to graveyard slots such as Storm Stories and So You Think You'd Survive. Oh yeah, the latter is lost media for now because it's not available to watch anywhere in the US.
Also happy 42nd birthday, The Weather Channel! 
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So right before this video was ready to upload, many TWC/Entertainment Studios employees and most notably Mike Seidel were layed off on May 1st. Guess I uploaded this at just the right time!
Is the guy who got flipped over by the tornado in El Reno still there? Mike Bettis maybe was his name?
@@GR-bn3xj Last I checked, he was.
Dude I was wondering where he's been.
Check out Variety’s listing of 2023 cable channels average daily viewership rankings. TWC was 119,000 which was down 26% from 2022.
@@GR-bn3xj He's still there.
You used to be able to turn on the Weather Channel during weather outbreaks and see actual weather. Now it's just another reality tv channel.
They still do, but in bursts of “Severe Weather Alerts” whenever it’s needed through the *National* broadcasts.
these days if you are looking for complete undivided coverage of a severe weather out break you are better off turning on "ryan hall, ya'll" or any of the many youtube severe weather channels.
It’s the weather equivalent of MTV and it’s transformation from what it was to what it is today. Sucks
I can not comprehend why so many specialty channels abandoned their entire reason for existing to become "Reality" T.V. channels. Outside the personal fact that I HATE reality shows and refuse to watch any of them, they're a fad that has mercifully passed. It's about as relevant today as if all these channels were 24\7 disco music.
You know what? I cut out cable T.V. a couple of years ago to save on my bills. I haven't watched any cable since those couple of years ago. I barely watched them BEFORE "cutting them loose". And I don't miss it in the least.
Maybe someone ought to sue these networks for false and misleading advertising (a "Weather Channel" with no weather? A "History Channel" with no history?). Maybe they can be forced into changing their names. I offer free of charge, "Sh*tty, Generic Reality T.V. Channel 1", "Sh*tty, Generic Reality T.V. Channel 2", "Sh*tty, Generic Reality T.V. Channel 3"...
they lost it when they went all woke.. Climate change crap.
I used to be hooked on the Weather Channel in elementary and middle school: I would watch Storm Stories, It Could Happen Tomorrow, and When Weather Changed History again and again. Their programming lineup nowadays just isn't the same.
real
Bro same, all the tornado alley episodes, and all of those were my childhood, they don’t play any of them anymore 😭
same brotha
Oh yes !!! Also, Remember the Business Travel Forecast or the Travel Forecast where they used to play a version of United Airlines' old theme music? And really, they should have never changed their old logo too.
I used to do that old remote drop on The Weather Channel too back in those days.
I just kept it on there sometimes and really just so that I could hear that local forecast music and see those graphics that they did with the logo at the time along with the forecasts. Today, it has become a shell of what it once was to coin an old expression.
Unfortunately, it seems that commitment to institution and foundation never really means anything anymore today.
Some of the shows you mention there were part of the problem.
2000s local on the 8s was a vibe.
💯 agree. I would watch it literally every day as a kid in the 2000s. My favorite part was definitely the music. The smooth jazz and ambient music is truly timeless.
It definitely was.
"...Currently in our area, 139 degrees, with thunderstorms in the area!"
Agreed they even used stuff from Kenny G and later a non jazz piece by Death Cab for Cutie at one point @@KylerWulff
"A few storms may be severe" used to scare me 😭
A few years ago, TWC took it upon themselves to name Winter Storms. One of the silliest ideas ever. Then there was the infamous shot of Jim Cantore wearing all his "hurricane gear" while covering a storm and two guys in the background were photobombing , smiling, waving wearing absolutely NOTHING to protect themselves...And Mike Seidel standing in a windstorm, with his legs bracing himself from the wind while a fellow was walking in the background showing no issue at all.. All of their theatrics turned me off!!
This was done for no other reason than to hype up these winter storms for ratings purposes. TWC feels more like entertainment rather than informational
I like the idea of naming winter storms the reason behind it makes sense and argument can be made. I don't see anyone else doing it because it would give TWC credit.
Getting rid of Mike Seidel was stupid. The Canadian reality shows are cheap to acquire and air. I do like them , especially "Heavy Rescue 401". I grew up in upstate NY, and have driven on the 401 countless times.
The theatrics during the last major hurricane in New Orleans is when they jumped the shark for me. I about died laughing watching the guy doing cartwheels behind Jim Cantore in the French Quarter as he's bracing against the "wind."
This! I used to regularly watch The Weather Channel and had its app on my phone. When they decided to name routine winter storms, I almost immediately unistalled their app and have not watched the channel since. I use another service. What they did was irresponsible because in naming routine winter storms, they were equating them with 🌀. *Hurricanes are generally much more dangerous than winter storms!*
A Channel called "The Weather Channel" that shows anything but "The Weather". Unless there's bad weather, but now Ryan Hall has better coverage.
The Reality Channel basically, no different from A&E, History, or TruTV
Now Weathernews LiVE (based in Japan) and their casters (yes they are called casters) are using the idea from the original TRC (no WNLiVE are not to blame for the downfall)
Max is way better than ryan
😁
Yup Ryan Hall is my favorite
Correct.
Dr. Greg Forbes. That guy was the best thing to happen to TWC. You’ll never get another Severe Storm Expert like him again. He was the Michael Phelps, the Michael Jordan, the Babe Ruth, the Usain Bolt, the Mohammed Ali of severe storm coverage.
They were like celebrities to me!
Remember John Hope back in the day? Tropical weather legend.
Paul Cochin winter weather expert too
Jim Cantore and Dave Schwartz was great also.
Dr. Forbes is a really interesting guy. Listening to him is like attending a university lecture. But instead of being dull and monotonous, you come away with a much better understanding of weather. It’s noteworthy that he studied under Ted Fujita in graduate school. Yeah, *the guy* who is credited with the Enhanced Fujita (EF) scale used for tornado classification.
Once NBC took over, it went to the dogs. The meteorologists were not as good, and the graphics were so amateurish.
I miss the old school graphics
Esp when they replaced Hot Kristina Abernathy with Al Roker! 🤢
Exactly! The guy (AI voice)who made this video mentioned that he misses the days when Al Roker was featured on TWC. NBC which included Al Roker is a big part of the downfall of TWC. I think that the NBC affiliation is over. But the stench remains.
Thank you for watching
Scr3w NB C
When nbc took over twc they ruined tf outta of it basically made it another today show with meteorologists and put too much reality TV bs on after 8pm but nbc luckily sold it and a black businessman from Atlanta bought it he's trying to make twc go back to its roots but they still have reality TV bs cause when I watched twc in the 90s and 2000s it was nothing but 24/7 pure weather but now it's only half of that if even daily.
Was watching them today and the reporter announced there was an observed tornado on the ground. She then says, "We'll have more info after the break...Take Cover," then cut to commercial. My dad and I looked at each other in disbelief.
They care about ad revenue more than people's lives
Yes I always found it silly when they went to comcerial right in the middle of tornado outbreak. They should stay live on the air when there are tornado warnings
Aside from ads, another thing I couldn't stand is that they would show their reality shows during storms or whenever they were approaching, and we needed to know what was going on. We usually ended up tuning into our local NBC news station to see what was going on.
@@CJWJR They care more about ad revenue rather than lives
Unfortunately the cost of programming has outpaced the content, even a tornado! !
So sad...
EVERYTHING is going to the wealthy... again.
Cable TV in general is basically dead. Why pay 200 bucks a month when you can get all the news, weather, and entertainment you could ever need on your phone? And mainstream news no one cares about mainstream news anymore. You get more accurate news from independent and small content creators.
Definitely great points and contributing factors to cable's downfall
I took out cable many years ago and I don't miss it. I save$ 864 not having it. I have a roof antenna, Roku and weather radio. I have weather nation on Roku. Weather nation is way better.I like watching Reed trimmer, max velocity, Ryan Hall y'all ponder on weather on RUclips
When I am on the road I rarely watch TV in the hotels. Amazing number of channels yet nothing worth my time.
All you need is a good Internet connection and you can stream free movies, weather, news, all day everyday. I quit cable years ago and never looked back. In fact I'm watching so much better content now than I was paying for cable.
@@daviddigital6887 Piracy is the best way to go, $0 a month is a bargain!
They lost me when they started naming winter storms.
They even planned at one point to name HEAT WAVES, but they realized how stupid that sounds. "Oh we are out here to cover heat wave Deborah!"
@ArtieRaccoonReviews Good grief! I also believe that with so many "cord cutters" they've lost a good many customers.
@@ArtieRaccoonReviewsnaming winter storms is just gimmicky.
I Lamothe CCP
@@ThraxMan84The worst part is now every forecaster is doing it. I don't listen to weather names when I know that I can avoid it, because it always runs the risk of ruining a boy/man or girl/woman's real life name. Has anyone noticed how after Hurricane Katrina, there aren't any girls or women named Katrina anymore? It used to be such a popular name, but thanks to forecasters, that name no longer exists.
Ryan Hall Y’all is the best place to watch severe weather here on RUclips. There’s also Max Velocity, and of course Reed Timmer is still live streaming. He was on storm stories.
I agree. I’ve been watching him since mid 2023.
I watch Ryan Hall Y'all whenever he livestream. I have pretty much ditched local coverage at this point. I started watching his channel in late 2021.
@@KristiBranstetter same here. He seems to catch storms before the national weather service too. I like that he tries to help impacted communities also.
Just started watching Max Velocity. Just weather no adds, no filler
Love Ryan Hall Y’all & Reed Timmer. Been following Reed for 4-5 years
I call TWC the “Ice Road Truckers” channel. Ryan Hall Y’all is my go-to now.
That show is ass dude 😭
I’m 18 now, but when I was between ages 10 and 11, I would get up from bed, and immediately sit myself in front of the TV for hours just watching the weather channel, I was just fascinated with the weather, and still am, when they were predicting severe weather for where I live, I’d sit there for the whole day until the storm hit. I’ve always had a sort of a personal connection with the weather channel like I was apart of what was happening there for some reason.. AND I REALLY LOVED THE LOCAL ON THE 8’s… the song at 2:26 always got me hyped up because I knew they played that song when there was something serious happening…
Unfortunately, right when I turned 14, our cable provider randomly decided to hike up the monthly cable bill by 50$, costing $130 per month… my parents decided to just get rid of it and replace it with streaming services instead… since then… I’ve never seen the weather channel since.. and the only thing that was remotely close to it was their app and RUclips here… coming across this video just now.. it makes me sad to see it start to decline and see all of the original anchormen and women who I grew up with there leave or retire… or die… RIP Schwartz.. didn’t know he died until now.. but I know that stuff is inevitable.
I feel the same way you felt, I would watch TWC anticipating a severe thunderstorm or blizzard!
They still have the song to this day lmao
anytime I hear the severe theme I think of hurricanes because I would always have the weather channel on during hurricane season
When I was a kid, it was just a purple screen with a wall of text describing the weather for the areas near you, followed by live radar. They didn't have shows. Coincidentally, the weather channel was channel 3 in our area, and you had to have your TV on channel 3 to play video games.
Showing my age here but nothing beats The Weather Channel from the 90's.
I was born in 2000 and I can imagine how wonderful it was
I think they’re still cool from 2000 to nowadays, whenever they’re not talking about climate change at least
Heck yeah, brother. The smooth jazz was good, and sometime later on, they paid for licenses to use other songs like Weather Report's 'Birdland' during Weather on the 8s.
@@SelecaoOfMidas Oh indeed, at least they paid to use other people’s songs
My favorite era of TWC was 1991-2007.
Same here
@@andyguerrette3014 My most favorite this century, is from 2001-2008! 😎
Watching TWC while on vacation in a different state from home was a vibe of its own back then, it still is like that sometimes
Mid-late 2000s Weather Channel was what made me want to become a meteorologist going into College. A real shame it's not the same as it used to be.
I wanted to become a meteorologist when I was younger, but my interests kept changing and then the pandemic happened and you know the rest
Exactly same, they lost me when climate change became a constant talking point
Two things that turn me away from the weather channel.
1. They stopped broadcasting weather 24 hrs. A day.
2. When a major storm was coming to a town that was causing death and destruction, all of a sudden they decided to go back to regular programming. 74 people died. People reporting watching TWC and then abandon them.
A few days ago, they told viewers to watch the streaming version of TWC that was behind a paywall to see live coverage of the storm meanwhile the linear cable channel continued playing Heavy Rescue 401. Disgusting levels of greed and incompetence.
I quit watching it when they removed there music and changed it to current hits music.
Another thing, airing commercials during tornado outbreaks, especially if one of those tornadoes triggers a Tornado Emergency. Hurricanes I can give it a pass, because the conditions aren't going to fall apart in seconds, unlike what cane happen in tornado outbreaks.
It also seems like every time there’s a severe weather outbreak, they never do any coverage on it anymore, or they focus on the wrong things. Their programming is more important than actually trying to cover the current situation.
They are trying too hard to be A&E or History Channel
They have been wrong on several major hurricanes on where it's going to make landfall. Granted hurricanes always shift, but TWC was way off the mark last year.
They have always ignored the country west of the Rockies so it was not worth watching. The High Sierra's would have almost 100 feet of snow and you'd never head about it on TWC. They would talk about the dusting of snow in Ohio.
@@TheBandit7613 Clownies
Nothing beat the look of the channel in the late 80's and early 90's. Back then, when I'd go on vacations with my family, we'd always watch weather channel to know how to plan our days, so that brings alot of fond nostalgia for me.
YES! 💯 I was born in 81 and watched it all day during storms and hurricanes and our local on the 8s
I wish I was alive back then
I loved the map that was on the Floor!
I’m with you there! Watched TWC constantly in the 80’s!
I watched religiously as a kid in the late 80s and the 90s. That was the golden age for me.
Even the app slowly turned awful. I had to eventually stop using it because it got so unbelievably aggressive with the ads
I agree, the ads are very obnoxious and causes the phone to run slower
Ahhh, the Weather Channel music... I spent so many hundreds of hours glued to The Weather Channel as a kid in the 90s that that music will forever be etched into my mind. Of course, we all openly complained about how terrible we thought it was, but deep down I secretly enjoyed how relaxing it was :D
Sad to see TWC get swallowed up with reality programming, like so many channels, but I'm glad to have been able to enjoy it during those great years it had in the 90s!
Weatherstar 2000, it's the thing that built the local forecasts. You can go online and find it
I used to watch NOTHING but the Weather Channel as a kid. I had a streak of like 5 years where I watched it every single day for hours at a time. I loved it. Storm Stories was my favorite and helped me know what to do as a 16 year old when the Joplin tornado hit (my town.)
I just saw that Mike Seidel was layed off this week. That to me is the nail in the TWC coffin. They're refusing to modernize or restructure and they're getting rid of some of the most beloved, esteemed meteorologists that have been synonymous with their channel.
You actually lived in Joplin during the 2011 tornado outbreak?! I'm glad you survived and I remember watching it live on The Weather Channel
@@ArtieRaccoonReviews yes, and I still do! My husband survived the actual tornado and lost everything, and it's how we met
@@missourimoons This comment made my day
I didn’t hear about Mike. That’s really too bad.
Ironically, Mike actually said on Instagram the other day that he was laid off because TWC is supposedly restructuring and his position was eliminated. Which I think is silly because if your restructuring plan includes getting rid of one of your most legendary on-air reporters, then you're definitely doing something wrong.
I used to love watching the Weather Channel from the 1980s to about 2010s. Haven’t watched it since. Loved the local forecast, the music it had, the major city forecasts, and the planner or whatever they called it.
I’m with you. It’s funny to hear this guy reminiscing about the early 2010’s. To me, TWC went to shit before that. The 90’s were the golden age for cable TV, including this channel. After that, it followed the same formula as History, Discovery, A&E, etc. Shitty shows for restraints & doctor’s offices to play in their waiting rooms. Nobody else watches them anymore.
That's when I watched it.
It's all about perspective
@@ArtieRaccoonReviewsIndeed. Considering that your observation starts from the '00s era to now, and we agree that the channel has declined, that's cool. I agree with other commentors that the channel started sliding before 2010, but that's because we're older. We can all see the decline through the 2010s together though and agree (to disagree) there.
I would say in terms of how they do their basic programming ( giving weather forecasts 24/7 and what not ), that hasn't really changed all that much. I mean they still do those kinds of shows like America's Morning Headquarters, Storm Center, and Weather Underground. So in terms of them covering weather or severe outbreaks, it's not that different.
IMO the biggest problem is the lack of wow factor. The biggest reason I was so obsessed with The Weather Channel in the mid-2000's to early 2010's ( which is when they peaked IMO ), was because you had Jim Cantore, Greg Forbes, Mike Bettes, Storm Stories, It Could Happen Tomorrow, Storm Riders, and all of these big severe weather events that you just loved to watch them cover ( Katrina, April 27th, El Reno 2013 ). Nothing ever tops Jim Cantore and Greg Forbes working together in the studio with Jim's serious tone and Forbes's incredible expertise watching those tornadoes unfold ( see: Vilonia, Arkansas 2014 ). The shows back then also had a much darker tone and much better pacing that engaged interest for the viewers ( see: It Could Happen Tomorrow and Storm Stories ). You also had the perfect sense of adventure and education on shows like Storm Riders. ( All those shows I just mentioned, please for the love of god, show re-runs of them or at least give them a DVD release ( exception being Storm Stories and When Weather Changed History )! ).
Nowadays, their programming has a much lighter feel and doesn't have that same sense of awe that drew people in. Also, which I'm obviously preaching to the choir to, THEY BARELY TALK ABOUT WEATHER. Who wants to watch shows about tow trucks, crashing planes, or monsters, on a channel about WEATHER? The basic 24/7 covering weather also has those boring gray boxes that just have text on them don't compare at all to that awesome blue color scheme in storm footage that would show up behind "Severe Weather" in 2007-2009.
Also, the Local on the 8's. It was always so fun hearing ( whoever his name is ) say: "Currently the temperature is, cloudy with showers and thunderstorms, here's your 7-day outlook!" with the perfect order of current conditions, radar, and the illustrated designs of storms and clouds......with all kinds of varying soundtracks for added attention ( "Night Drive" by Timothy Drury, and "Fun to be Happy" by Love Tractor. Nowadays, you get just a cloud with a lightning bolt coming out of it with the SAME FIVE SOUNDTRACKS EVERY TIME. How much more boring can you get?
Last but not least, and I don't have to say a whole lot here: WHY HAVE THERE BEEN TIMES WHERE YOU AIR THESE POINTLESS NON-WEATHER RELATED SHOWS DURING VIOLENT TORNADOES?!
Weather Center Live was better than Storm Center
Its messed up how they would rather air longform programming than cover a severe weather outbreak
I miss Greg Forbes. I I have many relatives from Pennsylvania with Pennsylvania Dutch accents, so listening to Greg Forbes talk about tornados felt like listening to my uncle. I'd love to see him make a comeback now that his cancer is gone and he is healthy again.
That would be a dream come true!
I'm a weather nerd and loved watching TWC before 2000. I don't anymore.
I'm surprised The Weather Channel actually still has weather.
I remember being obsessed with TWC back in the 90‘s. Weather on the 8‘s with the funky jazz music. I also had a huge crush on Cheryl Lemke. Dave Schwartz was there, Mike Bettis (still there I think) Vivienne Brown, Bill Keneely, Mark Mancuso, Jeanetta Jones, Mike Bono…all superstars in my little teenage mind.
Kristina Abernathy was (by far) The Hawtest.
Before she got really fat, that is (I used to think maybe she had become pregnant).
Their website blows now, too. It's so bloated with clickbait headlines that are often not even weather related.
It's been that way for the longest time
The local map radar was always off as well as the local temps
The end of the Weather Channel was Dr. Heidi Cullen the climate change evangelist.
She drove me away. And the Weather Underground was the name of a terrorist group in the '70s.
For real, can’t stand that hoax
Max Velocity was live covering a tornado warning and several severe warnings Saturday 5/25/24 in the afternoon, while TWC gave Ice Road Truckers from an entire other country. The only time you're going to get weather is when Jacqui is live.
The weather channel definitely peaked during the crazy 2005 hurricane season. The coverage of Katrina is something I’ll never forget. That was also my favorite local on the 8s music too (2005 hurricane storm alert)
No the super outbreak of 2011 and Joplin was covered fantastically and the 2013 Moore abd El Reno tornadoes. The 2014 twin tornadoes abd the mayflower/vilonia tornadoes.
No it had already peaked before then. It was going downhill already at that time.
All of these replies are true, but the 2013 rebrand was the beginning of the end
@@ArtieRaccoonReviews You're entitled to your opinion. The beginning of the end what when NBC bought the weather channel and TWC wad no longer independently owned. But it did get a lot worse November 12th 2013 when the graphics got similar to what a kindergartener could draw.
@@ILoveOldTWC I agree with you
I hate the "reality" shows on TWC now. I almost never watch them anymore. Even during extreme weather events, they will change to non-weather shows. I go straight to Ryan Hall Y'all during extreme weather events. Much more informative.
With the competitors part, even with severe weather, mostly tornadoes, there's a large amount of youtube weather streamers, such as Ryan Hall Y'all. Also the weather shows are somewhat being replaced, definitely not as much as the live stuff, with tornado videos on youtube. Loved this video, never knew the aero branding ever happened myself, only remember watching it post 2013. This channel (and seeing a snippet of the movie twister) is probably sparked my interest in tornadoes. Hopefully it gets back on track. Again amazing video, you have a lot of potential.
Not to mention Weather Direct's channel that does not just weather but also almanacs! Also thank you for the support!
Iowa Storm Chasing Network,Brandon Copic,Vince Waelti,Max Velocity.
They took away teletext, old web , y2k/frutiger aero styles and put the flat 😠.
Yeah, I don't like that either. Very bland.
When you switched over to the Weather Channel and it was black and red you knew you were in for a rough night
*Dramatic music intensifies*
The late 80s to the early 2000s was the best time for TWC. Weather coverage was 24/7 and the meteorologists actually took time to explain the weather for viewers. NBC and Baine Capital ruined the network by cutting staff and bringing in reality programming. Live weather coverage appears hurried today.
I wish I was alive to see it, I was born too late
Back 20 years ago, I travelled a lot for business and spent about 12 hotel nights every month. The Weather Channel was my go-to channel and was on the TV from the time I got up in the morning until I left for the office. I hadn’t watched it for about 10 years and then last year, I decided to turn it on in a hotel. It was on for about an hour and in all that time, I never did find out what was going on weatherwise that day. Just like ESPN who used to cover sports, now Weather Channel covers anything other than weather! Yikes…
TWC is unwatchable these days. Only networks I watch now are Adult Swim, FXX, and Boomerang.
Yeah, and MTV is anything but music videos like it was 40 years ago.
I grew up watching weather channel too in the 90s. In fact theyre the reason why i fell partially in love with smooth jazz.
Ever since 2018 when Greg Forbs retired from the company, theyvw gone downhill. They used to be much more reliable then local news for severe storm coverage.
Now though I am forces to rely on noaa and local news.
Steve Lyons, Greg Forbes, Dave Schwartz, Hillary Andrews, Paul Goodloe, Mike Seidel, Mike Bettes, Jim Cantone. The golden area.
I had the weather app on my phone up until they updated the app layout recently
They always have to change it up and we have to relearn it all over again
I’ve been a die hard fan of The Weather Channel. In the rebrand of 2013, it was still pretty decent in my opinion. I recalled that during big severe weather events, like tornadoes, they’d actually showed the thing live, and sometimes didn’t even have commercial breaks. That was good. The local on the 8s were still ok. It was 2018 when the channel started going downhill. They didn’t play the Local on the 8s on the 8s of every hour, not it was at minute 18 and 48. Then the severe weather coverage wasn’t as good anymore. It was still informative but not as it used to. Dr Greg Forbes was really good but when he left, the severe weather coverage wasn’t as well explained. More commercial breaks came a thing including during severe weather, and recently, the weather coverage is just looking at warnings on radar over and over again, and it’s not interesting anymore. The TV programming was good but now it’s not. And sadly one of the best meteorologists they had, Mike Seidel, was laid off yesterday. It’s sad to see a channel I really loved to watch, is going into a pit.
I didn't cover the layoffs in this video since it happened the very day this was scheduled to upload, bad timing!
In my childhood, I lived on TWC. It was more than just my favorite channel, the meteorologists were stellar and it made weather real to me. The golden years for this channel were 15+ years ago. Around the time they launched the HD channel sometime in 2008, that's when the graphics and many other things started to decline. The sale from Landmark Communications destroyed the once-loved channel. I haven't watched it in years now, and how unbelievably sad and enraging it is to see what has become of this channel today. I'd do anything to go back 20 years.
I wonder how different things would've been if TWC was never sold.
I was a Weatherscan person.
I started watching The Weather Channel in 2005. It was great. The Weather Channel in 2005-2006 was the best years for the channel.
2004 and especially 2005 yes. 2006 not so much, they had already changed and wrecked a whole lot by then.
I largely just watch AccuWeather nowadays; they never suffered channel drift. They also have nice music during their weather forecasts, much like Local on the 8s in its heyday.
I'll leave WeatherNation on overnight when I go to sleep
As many others have said, Ryan Hall is now my go to. His forecasts and coverage of ACTUAL life threatening weather, is what the weather channel used to be.
Now TWC, is nothing but crappy infomercials, reality TV, advertisements and over exaggerations of otherwise standard weather.
Well when your answer for any storm that happens is climate change, people tend to block you out.
I remember watching really cool shows on there about weather disasters. The music was just lovely. Smooth jazz is one of my favorites, despite its share of haters.
Agreed
I remember the Hurricane Katrina specials like they were yesterday.
@@KylerWulff I wish they would air those on TWC again
@@ArtieRaccoonReviews Me too, I loved watching those.
I'm just impressed you were able to chart the decline of The Weather Channel in between all the ads on their website.
A hurricane of ads!
@@ArtieRaccoonReviewsWinter Storm Adley? 🤣
Ever since I was in kindergarten I'd been fascinated with the weather, even wanting to become a meteorologist. TWC was a staple of my tv diet growing up, and my watch time would increase from ten minutes to five or six hours by the time I hit middle school around the early 2010s.
Once my family decided to finally install home internet and I got my first smartphone in 2012, that's when I started to fall off in viewership because I didn't need to be in front of the tv, and their programming wasn't strictly weather related. Around the end of my junior year in 2013, I shadowed a meteorologist for a day, and that's when I realized that meteorology wasn't going to be in the cards for my future, and stopped watching.
Now the weather is just a mundane part of my life I view through a relatively mundane app on my phone, well, only mundane until severe weather rolls in.
Probably wouldn't even recognize TWC if I watched now, a full decade later. Even the local on the 8s sounds like its more like the 9s if this video is correct. I'll pass.
Thanks for satisfying this weird little curiosity.
That's such a sad ending...
Whenever my family would be on vacation, the first thing we'd put on the TV in the hotel was The Weather Channel for the Local on the 8's coverage. The jingle and the tunes that played still bring me nostalgia for those trips to this day. Great video!
I'll always remember those iconic tracks
Early/mid 2000s weather channel will always have a special place in my heart. ❤
I'm 26 years old now, but from 5th to 12th grade, i used to watch The Weather Channel. I still remember local on the 8s fondly.
And now, your Local on the 8s! Currently in our area...
As do I.
I don't really watch the Weather Channel all that much, but I find it to be a sense of nostalgia to me. Anytime my family goes to the beach, it's always on in my room. I think it has to do when we were hit by a Tropical Storm during our first year in Panama City (I believe it was T.S. Cindy), so I guess it was some sort of... weird comfort to me? That's the main reason I enjoy the Weather Channel so much.
TWC was the go-to channel for vacations
I remember back when Verizon had cable, I would binge, not the main weather channel, but the side channel that didnt have "news" reports on it, but it was pure weather coverage. It was almost like a 24/7 Local on the 8s
Edit: just remembered it was called Weatherscan
I remember when TWC was taken off Verizon for years
I used to watch so much weather channel like storm stories, and my favorite was tornado alley they had some seriously good series back in the day
I love both of those shows. Too bad most of those episodes are lost as far as I know. There are a few YT reuploads, but I haven't found many.
It's sad that "So You Think You'd Survive" is also lost media
@@ArtieRaccoonReviews I haven't seen that show but I am interested now.
@@ArtieRaccoonReviews dude I seriously loved that one that’s sad no one can watch ut
I wish someone archived the show
I used to watch the heck out of Weather Channel as a kid 25 years back, the music they used then was super nostalgic.
I remembered back during hurricane Katrina that the music used was Stephen Arnold's "Eye of the Storm," with specially included Weather Channel theme leitmotifs during the Local on the 8s. I didn’t realize we had it so good back then.
Oh dude!!! That song gave me goosebumps that I still listen to it every time when a hurricane comes. They actually played that same song when a hurricane does come and they’ll play it on the Local on the 8s.
I actually like "Eye of the Storm" so much that I downloaded an MP3 file of it
We used to leave the Weather Channel on for background all the time. Then it became hopeless for bad weather so they would air all the stupid shows. Now even the app really isn’t that good.
I used to leave it on overnight because I was scared of entities
I just deleted the app when we had severe weather forecasted and the entire list of videos was about the flu. I don’t come to the TWC for health advice. The app became useless, so I have a local app and Fox Weather
I used to watch the weather channel back in the early 90s this gave me so much nostalgia. I felt like a kid again! I’ve always been fascinated with weather since i can remember of my own existence.
New to your channel. That pitch change in that canned vintage/retro intro music is just GOLD!! I had to play it over and over. Dont know what makes it so attractive, but it is.
Gold!
I remember being fascinated while also terrified of viewing the weather on Weather Channel, now I can’t stand to use them for normal weather due to how strongly ads are pushed- I just want the weather man-
I was scared a little bit because the alert beep (for severe thunderstorm warnings) startled me as a kid
You need to understand something. Ads are what pay the bills.
I watched The Weather Channel A LOT back in the 80's and 90's, up until they stared messing with the brand. The 90's truly were the golden age for TWC.
Now it's a memory of the past
Sadly, the weather channel has seriously declined. There is little weather reported. I get my weather from Mitch West on RUclips or Ryan Hall Ya’all if there is serious weather happening. He goes live on RUclips and communicates with all the storm chasers and the RUclips meteorologists.
As a kid in the 80's, and 90's I could not stand when a doctors office had the weather channel on, but now when I come across a random YT upload with that banging smooth jazz music I can't get enough of it!!! Having said that days I can get faster more up to date hyperlocal weather on my phone 24/7 so I rarely watch the weather unless someone in my family has the local news on.
Oh how the times change
I used to put my tv on to a certain weather channel for my area with those nostalgic 3D icons on there with classical music and I would watch it for at least an hour
I miss those 3D Windows 7-looking icons
I remember being as young as 7 turning on the weather channel choosing it over cartoons. 33 years later im still addicted to the weather, just not the weather channel sell outs.
TWC sold out when they were bought out by NBC
I watched The Weather Channel when it was weather 24/7 once they started with all the shows. I watch The Accu Weather Channel now.
Your viewership is not missed. TWC still draws more viewers on average than AccuWeather, Weather Nation or Fox Weather.
Weather nerd here. I used to keep TWC on constantly, but I have not liked the changes in recent years. Now I listen to (and support) Ryan Hall. We're tracking a tornado outbreak headed our way right now with Ryan 'cast onto the TV.
Ryan puts in 10 times more effort than TWC ever did
@ArtieRaccoonReviews we always enjoyed Jim Cantore and his/TWC's hurricane coverage. My spouse knows Jim from way back, AND I've experienced thunderSNOW more often than Jim! 😘
The last time i watched TWC was in 2016. My grandfather was in ICU and i just remember how it seemed less like the weather channel and more like a really channel.
That's really sad
I HAVE FOUND SOUL MATES! I'm so glad there are others who HATE naming winter storms, and HATE the reality shows that replaced weather. The very few times I checked TWC in the last few years, they had just about nothing about the current weather events. Even their hurricane coverage was pretty lacking. I remember back in the 80s to the early 2000s I could always just put TWC on and take it all in, and have a great idea of what was happening and would be happening across the country. First thing when we got to our rented beach house was to put on TWC in hopes of a sunny week ahead. And it was cool to see the unfamiliar local forecast locations, etc. I miss TWC, it really only exists in name.
The mid-2000s was the Golden Era for the Weather Channel, IMO.
They keep emphasizing man made global warming which is only a small part of the story, not the crisis they claim.
Exactly! That bs plus naming winter storms killed the Weather Channel.
I grew up in Abilene, TX in the late 80's and 90's where we would get major thunderstorms in the spring and summer, and as a kid I remember the "Local on the 8's". This is what got me interested in weather and meteorology. I also remember all the great meteorologist such as Heather Tesch, Bill Keneely, Jeanetta Jones, Jill Brown, Mark Mancuso, Kristin Dodd, Sharon Resultan, Mike Seidel and Dave Schwartz. Definitely great memories from my childhood! I know times and technology have changed, but The Weather Channel now is nothing like it used to be.
i was a weather obsessed kid and watched the weather channel religiously and my parents thought it was amusing that i watched it more than other kid's channels. i especially loved hurricanes and was glued to the screen when a major one was going to make landfall. i was so excited for the 8th minute of every hour for local on the 8s and i loved the maps and radars and icons. i stopped watching way before the rebrand happened, but i remember tuning into twc several years ago and was disappointed with how bland and soulless everything was, especially the local on the 8s! now i get weather news from twitter, youtube, and tiktok. lots of great content
weather tiktok is really awesome. for ex the phone footage from these recent tornado outbreaks is fascinating! i've never seen such close and clear footage before. i'd rather be there for weather now than twc
All news coverage now is geared for entertainment and political purposes; not honest news. I too mourn the loss of the REAL Weather Channel.
People want to be entertained? Say it ain't so 🙄
The Weather Channel went from first class to low class. It is now the Heavy Haul and Semi Truck Towing Channel.
It went down the same path as TNN/Spike
@@ArtieRaccoonReviews That's for sure. Red Neck love stories rather than fact.
You hit the nail on the head with the bland corporate graphics. Minimalism has taken all the pizzazz out of graphic design and I can't wait for this awful trend to die out already.
I think WeatherNation and Fox Weather gives us up to date weather every hour 24/7
Except that 12 AM to 6 AM is only footage that was taped prior
@@ArtieRaccoonReviews yep
One thing of note: The Weather Channel has been available on RUclips TV for over a year now.
Most people already know
I truly miss the 90s and early 2000s Weather Channel, honestly. Nowadays, we cut the cord due to it being too expensive and started watching Ryan Hall as we take him as our own version of The Weather Channel. No ads or filler, either! Just straight to the point weather coverage.
I live in Florida so I keep an eye on the tropics. TWC got so dramatic, and exaggerated most things associated with the storms. "You could see storm surge up to 20 feet". We got 2 feet.
There are many better places to get weather info now.
If there was storm surge of 20 feet, the town would've been wiped off the map completely
@@ArtieRaccoonReviews Yes it would. But TWC tries to scare people with big numbers.
The existence of Weather Channel "fans" baffles me, because as a kid, it was always that channel you tuned into for LOT8s every morning before school or work.
But damn, it was interesting and the footage at 1:08 is nostalgic. I loved looking at weather stats in atlases, etc and LOT8s gave an excellent overview of just how bleak a rainstorm or heatwave was. Hearing Allen Jackson say "Chance of snow...." when I first moved to a state that had it was an experience
Allen Jackson did a better job of narrating than Jim Cantore
The Weather Channel is on
RUclips TV.
But FOX WEATHER CHANNEL has taken over and surprised The Weather Channel 🥰
And it's free on Pluto I think, I watch a weather channel on there it's pretty good
When I wasn't watching cartoons or sports in the '90s or the '00s, I was checking out TWC. That era of having' Weather on the 8s' was the best because of what you mentioned here. Also, the channel's unique smooth jazz songs were so iconic!
Sucks to see where the channel has gone in the past decade plus, but yeah, I prefer their competitors on TV, mobile apps, and even RUclips now.
The best years of the TWC were the 90’s. If something significant was going on, you could watch the entire progression, with narration, live and see local radar on the 8’s. It was the only way to stay on top of things before the internet and cell phones. Cheryl Lempke was one of my favorites. I’m so old I watched Jim Cantore when he had hair!
Too bad time travel isn't physically possible
I miss them being live weather 24 hours a day.
Cantore is still with TWC, working their morning show from 5 to 8 am (CDT). Stephanie Abrams also works AM HQ from 5 to 8 am, and their 'Pattrn' show from 11 to noon CDT.
That sucks that it's only early in the morning
Wait Cantore is STILL with TWC?? That's awesome but Jeez, I remember watching him on there back when I was a kid in the 90s and 00s.
@@ArtieRaccoonReviews he still does the hurricane and severe storm coverage as well. He was also a lead reporter on the Eclipse coverage too.
I remember when Jim Cantore had HAIR!
@@dgwaters Jim's been with TWC since 1986! Right out of college.
I enjoyed The Weather Channel when I was a kid mainly because when they recapped the weather each evening, they showed footage of random places around the country. Combine that with my imagination about the different weather conditions, I found a pleasant escape from my own reality. It was a slice-of-life type experience. Nowadays, with Internet, I can do the same with RUclips and Tik Tok.
When TWC quit being TWC is the day I unplugged from satellite TV. Local on the 8’s was awesome! I learned a lot about weather while watching TWC in the 90’s.
I learned a lot from watching TWC as well
"Get Into The Out There" is the most unintuitive slogan ever, I had to read it like 3 times before I understood what it was saying.
It's AI = actually idiotic
I agree with you, it's not even a grammatically correct sentence and doesn't make sense. At least "It's Amazing Out There" actually meant something
The weather channel is peak. I used to watch it elementary and would watch it when I stayed up late and couldn’t watch Cartoon Network.
Same here
I loved the Local on the 8s. Always had smooth jazz music...even during hurricanes when the weekly forecast was dreadful to look at. xD
Man, i used to looooove the Weather Channel. I really miss Local on the 8s and many of the other stuff you mentioned. Thanks for this video.
"And now, your Local on the 8s..."
The decline started way earlier. It peaked in the early 90s.
Depends on which era you grew up with
Nothing beats early/mid 2000s Weather Channel for me!
Can we still all agree that The weather channel is one of the easiest to fall asleep to When you know for a fact there is no tornadoes
I do agree
TWC in the 1980s to about 2000 was sublime. I especially enjoyed the “For Everything You Do” and “No Channel Has Better Weather” eras. I still call smooth jazz “Weather Channel music”.
Lol same here
WeatherScan was legit relaxin' it certainly boosted-up a nice memory :)
I remember all 33 of those tracks!
We interrupt this Tornado coverage to preach about climate change.
Or a night-long marathon of Highway Thru Hell until 6 AM lol