The storm of new streamers continues with the announcement that The Weather Channel will be getting its own subscription streaming service, The Weather Channel Plus, by the end of 2021. Allen Media Group, which owns The Weather Channel, says that the service will launch sometime in the fourth quarter.
The Weather Channel has proven to be a popular source for local, regional and national weather news, from daily forecasts to major storm coverage. The Weather Channel Plus, which will be priced at $4.99 per month, will feature more than 50 news and entertainment streaming channels featuring high-profile content, though no details were provided.
“The Weather Channel has been voted the most-trusted news brand in America for 11 consecutive years, and the fifth most-trusted brand in America overall, which makes it the perfect brand for a direct-to-consumer streaming platform,” said Byron Allen, founder/chairman/CEO of Allen Media Group. “We’ve aggregated some of the best news and entertainment content while keeping it affordable and accessible at the same time. We are highly confident that consumers will enjoy The Weather Channel Plus streaming service for decades to come.”
Allen Media Group projects that The Weather Channel Plus will have 30 million subscribers in its first five years. These subscribers will be able to access the streaming service on smart TVs, smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, personal computers and laptops.
This is the latest streaming service from Allen Media Group, which debuted Local Now earlier this year and also has The Grio.
At $4.99, The Weather Channel will be one the lower-end of the price spectrum for streaming services (outside of free AVOD service). While we don’t know what its full range of content is going to be, it likely aims to be a way for cord-cutters to continue to watch The Weather Channel at a discounted cost than what a traditional cable package would have run, or on services like FuboTV or AT&T TV.
We’ll have to wait for more details to find out just how The Weather Channel Plus fits into the streaming landscape.
