Editing The Weather Channel (section)

==Controversy==
===Cable and satellite carriage disputes===
====Dish Network carriage dispute====
On May 20, 2010, [[Dish Network]] announced that it was dropping the Weather Channel at 12:00&nbsp;a.m. Eastern Time that day in favor of its own similar weather information channel, [[the Weather Cast]]. The [[carriage dispute]] was over the rates that the Weather Channel asked Dish Network to pay: from 11¢ per subscriber per month<ref>Stelter, Brian (May 22, 2010). [https://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/22/business/media/22weather.html Weather Channel's Move Beyond Forecasts May Be Costly]. ''[[The New York Times]]''. Retrieved May 22, 2010.</ref> to 12¢,<ref name="twcdishpr">[http://www.weather.com/tv/programs/CustomerMessage.html Dish Network is dropping The Weather Channel] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130527142607/http://www.weather.com/tv/programs/CustomerMessage.html |date=May 27, 2013 }}. ''The Weather Channel'' news release (May 20, 2010). Retrieved May 22, 2010.</ref> a 9% increase, totaling $140,000 per month. The dispute was also over the Weather Channel's programming format shifting from an information-based channel to an entertainment-based service.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100520-715627.html|title=DISH To Replace Weather Channel With Its Own 'Weather Cast'|date=May 20, 2010|newspaper=Wall Street Journal|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100523010909/http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100520-715627.html |archive-date=May 23, 2010 }}</ref> The Weather Channel said in a statement, "Dish has chosen to be the first distributor to drop the Weather Channel rather than pay the standard industry rates others in the industry have already agreed to pay",<ref name="twcdishpr"/> and encouraged Dish Network customers to switch to other pay television providers. Dave Shull, senior vice president for programming for Dish Network said the Weather Channel's fees were harder for the satellite provider to justify paying as more people receive weather information through the internet and mobile services: "They're looking for bid increases when I feel like there's a real migration to the Web, and it's difficult to really justify those rate increases at this time."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704513104575256880784721458?mod=WSJ_latestheadlines|title=Dish Network to Drop Weather Channel|newspaper=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|date=May 21, 2010|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

On May 24, 2010, the Weather Channel announced that it had reached a new multi-year carriage agreement with Dish Network,<ref>{{cite press release |url=http://press.weather.com/press_detail.asp?id=296 |title=DISH Network and The Weather Channel Reach Agreement |publisher=The Weather Channel|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120305190127/http://press.weather.com/press_detail.asp?id=296 |archive-date=March 5, 2012}}</ref> the financial terms of which were not disclosed. Despite the earlier announcement that the Weather Channel would be dropped, the channel was never officially removed from Dish Network. The Weather Cast ceased operations in anticipation of the launch of a [[Weatherscan]]-based service announced as part of the agreement that would provide local weather information for Dish Network customers. The proposed movie scheduled for the Friday after the deal was struck (May 28), ''[[Gorillas in the Mist]]'', was dropped in favor of a six-hour marathon of ''Tornado Road''.

====DirecTV carriage dispute====
[[DirecTV]] removed the Weather Channel from its lineup on January 14, 2014, after the two parties were unable to come to terms on a new carriage agreement;<ref name="DirecTV-TWC">[https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/01/14/directtv-weather-channel/4470233/ DirecTV customers lose The Weather Channel], ''[[USA Today]]'' (via the [[Associated Press]]), January 14, 2014.</ref> as a result, DirecTV became the first major pay television provider to drop the channel in its history.<ref name="Variety"/> Two weeks before the channel's carriage agreement was set to expire on December 31 (after which the deadline for a new carriage deal was extended by two weeks), the satellite provider began carrying [[WeatherNation TV]] (the successor to the Weather Cast and owned by WeatherNation, LLC) on channel 361 on December 16, 2013–placing the channel next to the Weather Channel's slot on channel 362;<ref>{{cite news|last=Flint|first=Joe |title=DirecTV issues veiled threat in talks with Weather Channel|url= https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-fi-ct-directv-weather-20131226,0,3840158.story|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=December 26, 2013 |date=December 25, 2013}}</ref> WeatherNation replaced the Weather Channel on channel 362–while still being carried on channel 361–when TWC was pulled.<ref name="Variety">{{cite news|last=Spangler|first=Todd|title=Weather Channel Pulled from DirecTV|url=https://variety.com/2014/biz/news/weather-channel-pulled-from-directv-1201054279/|work=Variety|access-date=January 14, 2014|date=January 13, 2014}}</ref><ref name="Times TWC">{{cite news|last=Flint|first=Joe|title=DirecTV no longer carrying Weather Channel after contract dispute|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-weather-channel-off-directv-20140113,0,4788207.story#ixzz2qOYJ2DkU|newspaper=Los Angeles Times |access-date=January 14, 2014|date=January 14, 2014}}</ref>

The Weather Channel's chief executive officer David Kenny stated that it offered DirecTV the best rate for its programming (according to SNL Kagan, the Weather Channel's average carriage fee at the time was 13¢ per subscriber), and blasted the satellite provider's removal of the channel by stating that it was putting profits ahead of public safety.<ref name="DirecTV-TWC"/> Representatives for DirecTV stated that it added WeatherNation TV in response to subscriber complaints regarding the number of reality programs on the Weather Channel, which it estimated had amounted to 40% of its daily schedule<ref name="Variety"/><ref name="Times TWC"/> (WeatherNation TV, which outside of its carriage by DirecTV is primarily carried on [[terrestrial television|broadcast television]] stations as a main channel affiliation or a [[digital subchannel|digital multicast service]], does not run programming outside of forecasts with the only interruption in its weather coverage coming from affiliates that carry children's programs to fulfill [[Federal Communications Commission|FCC]] [[E/I|educational programming]] requirements; however, WeatherNation has been criticized for its very limited amount of live programming, which TWC does provide, especially during significant weather events<ref>{{cite web|title=DirecTV Fight Puts WeatherNation On Radar|url=http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/74008/directv-fight-puts-weathernation-on-radar/page/1|first=Ryan|last=Nakashima|publisher=TVNewsCheck (via the [[Associated Press]])|date=February 10, 2014|access-date=June 9, 2014}}</ref>). DirecTV stated that weather information is also available through broadcast television stations carried as part of its local channel tier, as well as the provider's designated emergency channels.<ref name="Times TWC"/> The Weather Channel fought back by airing commercials encouraging people to not subscribe to DirecTV by parodying the provider's popular "Get Rid of Cable" ad campaign.

On April 8, 2014, the Weather Channel and DirecTV both settled on a new agreement (TWC decided to alter its programming lineup by trimming the amount of reality programming on weekdays in half, restricting them to its nighttime schedule, in response to complaints from DirecTV subscribers), with the provider restoring the channel on channel 362 the following day. Access to local weather content using the red button feature did not return until May 2, 2014.<ref>{{cite web|last=Lieberman|first=David|title=The Weather Channel Returns To DirecTV|url=https://deadline.com/2014/04/the-weather-channel-returns-directv-deal-711602/|website=Deadline Hollywood |access-date=April 8, 2014|date=April 8, 2014}}</ref>

====Verizon FiOS removal and return====
[[Verizon FiOS]] dropped the Weather Channel and its sister network Weatherscan from its lineup on March 10, 2015, after the two parties were unable to come to terms on a new carriage agreement. The services have respectively been replaced by the [[AccuWeather Network]] (which launched on March 10) and a [[Software widget|widget]] provided by FiOS featuring forecast content provided by [[WeatherBug]]. No public announcement was made regarding the removal until over 12 hours after TWC and Weatherscan were pulled.<ref>{{cite news|title=Verizon FiOS drops the Weather Channel|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-verizon-fios-drops-the-weather-channel-20150311-story.html|author=Yvonne Villarreal|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=March 11, 2015|access-date=March 20, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Verizon FiOS drops the Weather Channel|url=https://money.cnn.com/2015/03/10/media/weather-channel-verizon-fios/|author=[[Brian Stelter]]|work=[[CNN Money]]|date=March 10, 2015|access-date=March 20, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=AccuWeather Launches Its First National Weather Channel|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/accuweather-launches-first-national-weather-781344|work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|author=Beatrice Verhoeven|date=March 13, 2015|access-date=March 20, 2015}}</ref> The Weather Channel offered a less expensive deal to Verizon FiOS, which rejected the offer. Verizon cited the Weather Channel's frequent use of scare tactics, naming of winter storms and the wide availability of the internet and mobile apps for consumers to access weather content any time of day as the reason for dropping TWC and its services.<ref>{{cite news|title=Verizon FiOS drops Weather Channel over contract|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2015/03/10/verizon-fios-drops-weather-channel/24728747/|author=Roger Yu|newspaper=[[USA Today]]|publisher=[[Gannett Company]]|date=March 10, 2015|access-date=March 20, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Verizon drops The Weather Channel, claiming internet killed the weatherman|url=https://qz.com/359445/verizon-drops-the-weather-channel-claiming-internet-killed-the-weatherman/|work=[[Quartz (publication)|Quartz]]|date=March 10, 2015}}</ref> It is unknown if [[FiOS from Frontier|Frontier FiOS]] customers in clusters formerly served by Verizon are affected, including (as of April 1, 2016) the recently acquired clusters from California, Texas, and Florida.

A representative for the network said in a statement, "We were disappointed when, without warning late yesterday, March 9, Verizon FiOS dropped the Weather Channel from their lineup while our companies continued to be in active conversations regarding a contract renewal. FiOS customers have enjoyed a bundle of services from the Weather Channel including the network, Weatherscan, On-Demand, a Weather Widget and streaming on mobile devices. During a winter with record-breaking storms and severe weather, the Weather Channel responded with non-stop live coverage, including the ongoing presence of our crews reporting live from hard-hit communities within the Verizon FiOS footprint. This coverage resulted in the Weather Channel being the only major cable network to grow in February."

The Weather Channel had earlier signed renewal agreements with major providers that are members of the National Cable Television Cooperative, including [[Time Warner Cable]] and [[Cox Communications]]. However, representatives for the channel claimed to be shocked that "Verizon FiOS would deny their subscribers access to the best live weather coverage and expertise that only the Weather Channel can provide." While Verizon claimed it was a long-term business decision (instead of a carriage dispute) that it made, the Weather Channel launched a campaign, originally urging viewers to contact FiOS about restoring the cable channel and its services. But, seeing that Verizon is not planning on bringing the channel and its services back in the near future, the Weather Channel now urges its viewers to switch providers.<ref>{{cite web|title=Verizon FiOS drops The Weather Channel - Our Statement|url=http://www.keeptheweatherchannel.com/statement|work=The Weather Channel|access-date=March 16, 2015|archive-date=March 15, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150315051339/http://www.keeptheweatherchannel.com/statement|url-status=dead}}</ref>

After a four-year absence and with the channel under ownership of Entertainment Studios, Verizon FiOS inked a new agreement to bring the Weather Channel back to its lineups on June 24, 2019.<ref>[https://deadline.com/2019/06/the-weather-channel-returns-to-verizon-fios-after-four-year-absence-1202634901/ The Weather Channel Returns To Verizon Fios After Four-Year Absence] - ''Deadline'' (published June 19, 2019; accessed June 20, 2019)</ref> The channel has not returned to channel lineups within Frontier FiOS's customer footprint until 2021 with the company's partnership with [[YouTube TV]].

==={{anchor|Winter storm names}}Winter storm naming===
{{see also|Winter storm naming in the United States}}
In the fall of 2012, the Weather Channel began to assign names to major winter storm systems. The channel stated the decision to start naming notable winter storms came as a way to more easily spread knowledge and raise awareness. By naming winter storms, TWC stated that the public would find it easier to follow storm information, social media will be able to refer to and discuss the storm, and people will have an easier time referring to the storm after it occurs. However, critics of the Weather Channel insist it is a way to further hype winter weather, especially on the heavily populated [[East Coast of the United States|East Coast]]. Critics contend that (south of Boston), many other areas of the United States actually experience much more frequent and intense winter weather than the East Coast, but does not have as large of a media market.<ref name="why names">{{cite web|last=Niziol |first=Tom |title=Why The Weather Channel is Naming Winter Storms |url=http://www.weather.com/news/why-we-name-winter-storms-20121001 |work=weather.com |publisher=The Weather Channel |access-date=February 9, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130210223956/http://www.weather.com/news/why-we-name-winter-storms-20121001 |archive-date=February 10, 2013 }}</ref>

The first winter storm to be named by TWC was a [[nor'easter]] that hit the [[East Coast of the United States]] in [[November 2012 nor'easter|November 2012]], which was named after the Greek goddess [[Athena]]. During the 2012–13 season, the Weather Channel named 27 winter storms ([[November 2012 nor'easter|Athena]], Brutus, Caesar, [[December 17–22, 2012 North American blizzard|Draco]], [[Late December 2012 North American storm complex|Euclid]], Freyr, Gandolf, Helen, Iago, Jove, Khan, Luna, Magnus, [[February 2013 nor'easter|Nemo]], Orko, Plato, Q, [[February 2013 Great Plains blizzard|Rocky]], [[March 2013 nor'easter|Saturn]], Triton, [[Late March 2013 North American winter storm|Ukko]], Virgil, Walda, Xerxes, Yogi, Zeus and Achilles).<ref>{{cite web|title=Winter 2012-13: Named Storms from 'A' to 'Z' (and 'A' Again)|url=http://www.weather.com/news/weather-winter/named-winter-storms-2012-2013-a-to-z-20130318|work=weather.com|publisher=The Weather Channel|access-date=June 18, 2013|archive-date=May 31, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130531053030/http://www.weather.com/news/weather-winter/named-winter-storms-2012-2013-a-to-z-20130318|url-status=dead}}</ref> During the 2013–14 season, the Weather Channel named 26 winter storms (Atlas, Boreas, Cleon, Dion, Electra, Falco, Gemini, Hercules, Ion, Janus, Kronos, Leon, Maximus, Nika, Orion, [[Mid-February 2014 North American winter storm|Pax]], Seneca, Titan, Ulysses, Vulcan, Wiley, Xenia, Yona, and Zephyr). Multiple factors are taken into consideration when deciding whether to name a winter storm. This includes, but is not limited to, predicted snowfall and other precipitation, wind speeds, and the timing of the storm.<ref name="why names"/>

The Weather Channel has provided the criteria behind their decisions to name certain storms, in particular Athena,<ref name="TWC-Athena"/> Brutus,<ref>{{cite web|title=Winter Storm Brutus: Why We Named It|url=http://www.weather.com/news/weather-winter/winter-storm-brutus-naming-20121108|work=weather.com|publisher=The Weather Channel|access-date=February 9, 2013|archive-date=January 13, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130113215228/http://www.weather.com/news/weather-winter/winter-storm-brutus-naming-20121108|url-status=dead}}</ref> Gandolf,<ref>{{cite web|last=Niziol|first=Tom|title=Winter Storm Gandolf: Why We Named It|url=http://www.weather.com/news/weather-winter/why-we-named-gandolf-20130109|work=weather.com|publisher=The Weather Channel|access-date=March 4, 2013|archive-date=March 17, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130317043948/http://www.weather.com/news/weather-winter/why-we-named-gandolf-20130109|url-status=dead}}</ref> Iago,<ref name="TWC-Iago"/> Khan,<ref name="TWC-Khan"/> Luna,<ref name="TWC-Luna"/> Magnus,<ref name="TWC-Magnus"/> Nemo,<ref name="TWC-Nemo"/> Saturn,<ref name="TWC-Saturn"/> and Virgil.<ref name="TWC-Virgil"/>

In response, the [[National Weather Service]] announced on November 7, 2012, that it would not recognize the Weather Channel's names for winter storms, stating in a press release that it "does not use the name of winter storms in its products."<ref name="Samenow2012"/><ref name="FNC2012"/><ref>{{cite web|title=Winter Storm Athena Forecast Impacts|url=http://www.weather.com/news/weather-winter/noreaster-post-sandy-20121105|publisher=The Weather Channel|access-date=November 7, 2012|archive-date=November 7, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121107010156/http://www.weather.com/news/weather-winter/noreaster-post-sandy-20121105|url-status=dead}}</ref> Some commentators have suggested that naming winter storms may give them undue importance in the public eye by drawing parallels to official names given by the National Weather Service to [[Tropical cyclone|tropical storms]], which are significantly more severe and devastating than winter storms.<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/qMGn9T37eR8 Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20191031045041/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMGn9T37eR8 Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{Citation|title=Weather: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)| date=October 13, 2019 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMGn9T37eR8|language=en|access-date=February 20, 2020}}{{cbignore}} starting from 7:05</ref> References to the names are generally limited on TWC-provided forecasts seen on NBC's [[NBC News|news programs]].

===Keffiyeh ad removal===
On October 9, 2024, the Twitter account for the organization [[StopAntisemitism]] (@StopAntisemites) posted a picture of an advertisement for the Weather Channel featuring a woman wearing a [[Palestinian keffiyeh]] around her neck.<ref name="DD10112024">{{cite news |last1=Huggins |first1=Katherine |title=Weather Channel ad featuring woman in keffiyeh causes absolute meltdown |url=https://www.dailydot.com/debug/weather-channel-keffieyh-ad-backlash/ |access-date=October 12, 2024 |work=[[The Daily Dot]] |date=October 11, 2024 |quote=The Weather Channel managed to upset both sides.}}</ref><ref name="CAIR10122024">{{cite news |last1=Hooper |first1=Ibrahim |title=CAIR Calls on The Weather Channel to Apologize for Denigrating Palestinian Culture, Agreeing with Hate Group |url=https://www.cair.com/press_releases/cair-calls-on-the-weather-channel-to-apologize-for-denigrating-palestinian-culture-agreeing-with-hate-group/ |access-date=October 12, 2024 |work=[[Council on American–Islamic Relations|CAIR]] |date=October 12, 2024}}</ref> According to [[Bill Ackman]], the advertisement (made for the Weather Channel App) was produced by parent company The Weather Company under Francisco Partners.<ref name="DD10112024" /> The @StopAntisemites account falsely stated that the keffiyeh is a [[hate symbol]] associated with [[violence against Jews]] following the [[October 7th attacks]] from a year prior, inciting pro-Israelis to demand that the Weather Channel withdraw the ad.<ref name="DD10112024" /> In actuality, keffiyehs are a traditional Middle Eastern clothing for sun protection (the [[Sudra (headdress)|sudra]] being the Jewish analogue),<ref name="CAIR10122024" /><ref name="Bartlett1973">{{cite book|author=J. R. Bartlett|title=The First and Second Books of the Maccabees|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uj44AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA246|access-date=12 October 2024|date=19 July 1973|publisher=CUP Archive|isbn=978-0-521-09749-9|page=246|quote=traditional Jewish head-dress was either something like the Arab's ''Keffiyeh'' (a cotton square folded and wound around a head) or like a turban or stocking cap}}</ref> with a black-and-white pattern being used to represent [[Palestinian nationalism|nationalism]] for the [[State of Palestine]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sottile |first=Zoe |date=2023-11-28 |title=The Palestinian keffiyeh explained: How this scarf became a national symbol |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2023/11/28/style/style-palestinian-keffiyeh-explained/index.html |access-date=2024-10-12 |website=[[CNN]] |language=en}}</ref>.

The @TheWeatherChannel account responded to @StopAntisemites, apologizing for any offense they caused, stating that they do not condone anti-Semitism in any form and that they were withdrawing the ad.<ref name="DD10112024" /><ref name="CAIR10122024" /> The Weather Channel's response earned backlash from pro-Palestinians, who cited the true meaning of the keffiyeh and accused the Weather Channel of caving to [[Islamophobic]] and [[anti-Palestinian]] propaganda.<ref name="DD10112024" /><ref name="CAIR10122024" /> The [[Council on American-Islamic Relations]] (CAIR) condemned The Weather Channel for agreeing with the "right-wing extremist" StopAntisemitism (alleging the organization and its founder of having a history of pushing [[new anti-Semitism]], [[Anti-African sentiment]], and [[self-hating Jew]] rhetoric)<ref name="CAIR10122024" /> and regarding keffiyehs as a hate symbol, for which CAIR demanded an apology, stating: "The Weather Channel must apologize for bowing to the racist demands of an anti-Palestinian hate group and seeming to agree with their mustache position that any expression of Palestinian heritage is by definition 'antisemitic.' The keffiyeh is traditional Palestinian attire and has nothing to do with antisemitism. It is because of hate speech like this that [[Anti-Palestinianism during the Gaza war|Palestinian Americans have literally been stabbed and shot for wearing the keffiyeh over the past year]]. It must stop. The Weather Channel must apologize."<ref name="CAIR10122024" />

Covering the controversy, the conservative [[Jewish News Syndicate]] sided with StopAntisemitism's stance, saying "the distinctive black-and-white keffiyeh has long been associated with the Palestinian war of annihilation against the Jewish state."<ref>{{cite news |author1=<!--not stated--> |title='Weather Channel' apologizes, retracts keffiyeh ad campaign |url=https://www.jns.org/weather-channel-apologies-retracts-keffiyeh-ad-campaign/ |access-date=Oct 18, 2024 |work=[[Jewish News Syndicate]] |date=Oct 13, 2024 |quote=The Weather Channel, a U.S. pay television content provider, apologized on Thursday for an ad campaign that featured a woman wearing a Palestinian keffiyeh, a symbol often associated with terrorism against Israel and Jews worldwide.}}</ref>