Weather Channel Inks Dish Network Agreement

By Suzanne Vranica 

The Weather Channel said it signed a multiyear carriage agreement with satellite provider Dish Network Corp., averting a dispute that could have dealt a major blow to the TV network's business.

The deal ensures that the channel, which specializes in round-the-clock forecasts, will continue to be offered to Dish's roughly 14 million subscribers. Weather Channel won't receive an increase in carriage fees from Dish under the terms of the deal, a person familiar with the situation said.

As part of the agreement, the Weather Channel will be available on Dish's new online video service Sling TV by July, the company said.

The pact is welcome news for the network's parent company, Weather Co., which is owned by a consortium that includes private-equity firms Bain Capital LLC and Blackstone Group LP, and Comcast Corp.'s NBCUniversal. The channel is currently dealing with the fallout from being dropped in March by Verizon Communications Inc. from its FiOS TV service, which reaches 5.6 million households.

The Weather Channel, like many other independent U.S. TV channels, faces tough battles with cable and satellite providers who are looking for ways to reduce their programming expenses as more consumers "cut the cord," or drop pay TV connections. Maintaining carriage of their networks and extracting higher carriage fees--a traditional source of growth--has become difficult.

Market researcher SNL Kagan estimates the Weather Channel gets an average of 14 cents per subscriber a month from pay-TV distributors, compared with $6.61 for ESPN.

Weather Co. Chief Executive David Kenny has been trying to diversify the company's business by moving more into digital advertising, but the company is still heavily reliant on TV revenue.

Write to Suzanne Vranica at [e-mail]

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