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n2doc

(47,953 posts)
Wed Jul 4, 2012, 08:47 AM Jul 2012

Fans Howl After Weather Site Buys Out Rival

By JOHN SCHWARTZ and BRIAN STELTER
Published: July 3, 2012

It’s stormy out there.


The announcement on Monday that the Weather Channel Companies, owners of television’s Weather Channel and weather.com, would buy one of its rivals, Weather Underground, set off howls of displeasure on social media platforms and around water coolers across the nation. The purchase price was not disclosed.

In the eyes of Weather Underground’s ardent fans, the Weather Channel appears to represent the wrong kind of weather information: personality-driven sunniness and hype, they say, rather than the pure science of data. As Mike Tucker, a computer professional in New Hampshire, put it on Facebook, reacting to news of the deal: “Nooooooooooooooooo! Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

The controversy illustrates the deep national divide between those people who just want to know if it’s going to rain, and people who really, really, care about the data underlying the weather. Christopher Maxwell, a manager at a solar energy company in Richmond, Va., is in the really-really-cares-about-the-weather camp. He said he saw the Weather Channel deal as a sad sellout for Weather Underground.

“It seems to happen all the time,” he said. “Something great gets invented and sold in the United States, and it gets bought up and destroyed.”

Weather Underground was founded in 1995 in Ann Arbor, where it grew out of the University of Michigan’s online weather database. The name was a winking reference to the radical group that also had its roots in Ann Arbor. Mr. Maxwell said he appreciated Weather Underground’s fanatical devotion to data, and how it drew information from so many thousands of weather stations run by users that he is able to determine “microclimates” of variation that can prove important in getting the most out of a new solar installation.

more

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/04/us/as-weather-channel-buys-weather-underground-fans-fear-change.html?hp

54 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Fans Howl After Weather Site Buys Out Rival (Original Post) n2doc Jul 2012 OP
This is truly depressing malaise Jul 2012 #1
Duplicate KoKo Jul 2012 #7
Guess who bought them out... BAIN CAPITAL, Comcast and the Blackstone Group! KoKo Jul 2012 #8
I wanted to puke when I read that. intheflow Jul 2012 #22
Disgusting. lonestarnot Jul 2012 #38
I wonder if they are trying to silence Dr. Master's global warming stuff. Odin2005 Jul 2012 #46
Okay, now I care. I was going to post I like my weather served with a helping of crap, but now... freshwest Jul 2012 #52
I know!!! nt greytdemocrat Jul 2012 #11
It's sucky, sucky, sucky byeya Jul 2012 #20
I have always thought that the Weather.com website gets the award for the worst ever. Laura PourMeADrink Jul 2012 #2
But how often is the 10-day accurate? Chan790 Jul 2012 #4
You are probably right...but if I am traveling, it gives me a good "general" Laura PourMeADrink Jul 2012 #6
If you lived in Las Vegas Nevernose Jul 2012 #35
I have a cousin who lives in Henderson. Chan790 Jul 2012 #40
My favorite weather website: MyWeather.com...Check it out... Laura PourMeADrink Jul 2012 #3
the myweather app has gotten good reviews bananas Jul 2012 #21
This message was self-deleted by its author bupkus Jul 2012 #27
Thank you, Laura!!! Odin2005 Jul 2012 #42
this is so weird, we are going camping on the banks of the Frio River in So Texas next Laura PourMeADrink Jul 2012 #47
Oh, crap! RC Jul 2012 #5
Hope Jeff Masters keeps blogging...nt SidDithers Jul 2012 #9
Doesn't Romney's Bain(Bane) Capitol Own TWC? n/t fredamae Jul 2012 #10
Comcast does (via it's majority stake in NBC Universal that bought TWC). n/t BumRushDaShow Jul 2012 #14
The NYT article in OP says both Bain and Comcast own TWC. n/t intheflow Jul 2012 #23
Thats too bad. But it happens in the web world all the time. A new Wunderground will spring up. geckosfeet Jul 2012 #12
UGH!! BumRushDaShow Jul 2012 #13
I don't want to lose the WunderMap! Siwsan Jul 2012 #15
WunderMap is an invaluable resource! intheflow Jul 2012 #24
It is my go to for hurricanes and storm weather Mojorabbit Jul 2012 #41
My daughter loves it and keeps track of my weather to warn me of anything coming my way Auntie Bush Jul 2012 #44
Eh, the fireworks would've scared your dog, too. intheflow Jul 2012 #50
Weather underground has more scientific information, more accessible than Weather.com CreekDog Jul 2012 #16
I always use the NOAA website, can't stand or trust The Weather Channel. Ikonoklast Jul 2012 #17
Same here. surrealAmerican Jul 2012 #28
Ditto. NOAA/NWS for me. tosh Jul 2012 #29
+1 Crowman1979 Jul 2012 #30
I live in Florida. This time of year, I check wunderground every morning. We have enough morningglory Jul 2012 #18
dammit Marrah_G Jul 2012 #19
Stupid. Well, now I guess I get to wait 20 minutes for the Wunderground page to load with all sorts TwilightGardener Jul 2012 #25
That truly sucks more than I can say n/t kdmorris Jul 2012 #26
surprised? heaven05 Jul 2012 #31
'Capitalists Against Capitalism' strikes again! JHB Jul 2012 #32
Bah. raouldukelives Jul 2012 #33
I prefer the National Weather Service - nws.noaa.gov csziggy Jul 2012 #34
Yup, here too... evilhime Jul 2012 #36
Another vote for weather.gov JaneQPublic Jul 2012 #54
They all get their data from the same place, I believe klook Jul 2012 #37
howl hollysmom Jul 2012 #39
I thought it sucked when it happened, too. K&R Egalitarian Thug Jul 2012 #43
NOOOOOOO!!! Odin2005 Jul 2012 #45
My sentiments, exactly. GoCubsGo Jul 2012 #49
Use the National Weather Service -- the single payer, single provider solution FarCenter Jul 2012 #48
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! aquart Jul 2012 #51
I can understand Lithos Jul 2012 #53

KoKo

(84,711 posts)
8. Guess who bought them out... BAIN CAPITAL, Comcast and the Blackstone Group!
Wed Jul 4, 2012, 09:13 AM
Jul 2012

from the article:

Weather Underground’s devotion to weather data has brought the site about 10 million unique visitors a month, according to the measurement firm ComScore, and has helped it to remain an independent company for the better part of two decades. A similar site, WeatherBug, draws 21 million visitors a month. (WeatherBug is owned by Earth Networks.)

Both sites, however, are dwarfed by Weather.com and the other properties owned by the Weather Channel, which is owned by a consortium that includes Comcast, Bain Capital and the Blackstone Group. The Weather Channel sites draw almost 50 million visitors a month. But only half of Weather Underground’s users also use Weather.com in a given month, which might be considered a silent protest of sorts.

Every so often one of the bosses of the Weather Channel had tried to buy Weather Underground, company officials said, and every so often the site politely declined. But this time was different.

freshwest

(53,661 posts)
52. Okay, now I care. I was going to post I like my weather served with a helping of crap, but now...
Thu Jul 5, 2012, 12:46 AM
Jul 2012

This is a bummer. More RW spin on everything.

Could be they didn't like the Weather Channel guys in the past supporting climate change in their reports.

This planet really is a lunatic asylum. No escape, either.

 

Laura PourMeADrink

(42,770 posts)
2. I have always thought that the Weather.com website gets the award for the worst ever.
Wed Jul 4, 2012, 08:51 AM
Jul 2012

You have to click through everything to find stuff. I like Underground, but I don't think
they have a 10 day forecast

 

Chan790

(20,176 posts)
4. But how often is the 10-day accurate?
Wed Jul 4, 2012, 08:55 AM
Jul 2012

Mine has never been completely accurate one time since they started doing a 10-day...and that's between living in DC, MD, VA, CT, PA and NYC. Not one time have I seen a completely-accurate 10-day Weather Channel forecast.

 

Laura PourMeADrink

(42,770 posts)
6. You are probably right...but if I am traveling, it gives me a good "general"
Wed Jul 4, 2012, 09:00 AM
Jul 2012

idea of what it will be like.

 

Chan790

(20,176 posts)
40. I have a cousin who lives in Henderson.
Wed Jul 4, 2012, 01:56 PM
Jul 2012

He says the weather is predictable 6 months in advance.

Hot in the AM, breaking to hotter in the afternoon, slightly cooler in the evening. Cold overnight with a chance of rain 5% after 2AM.

I will say it's the same in every desert in the world. Hot days with no cloud-cover make for comparatively cold nights and whatever precipitation falls, usually falls when there's nobody awake to see it.

Response to Laura PourMeADrink (Reply #3)

 

Laura PourMeADrink

(42,770 posts)
47. this is so weird, we are going camping on the banks of the Frio River in So Texas next
Wed Jul 4, 2012, 08:28 PM
Jul 2012

week.

Myweather.com shows this coming Sun, Mon, and Tues
Temps: 94, 87, 81
Rain: Scattered Showers, Rain, Light Rain (Respectively)

Weather.com shows:
Temps: 98, 96, 96
Rain: 0% Chance, 0% chance, 20% Chance

Uvalde, TX






 

RC

(25,592 posts)
5. Oh, crap!
Wed Jul 4, 2012, 08:58 AM
Jul 2012

This won't be good. While the Weather Channel is OK, I prefer the facts over window dressing. All I want to know is the current temperature, humidly, wind speed and what I can expect during the next week or so, for certain locations. i.e., Localized weather conditions.
You can keep the glitter and the useless, wide area, Farmers Almanac style forecasting.

BumRushDaShow

(127,317 posts)
13. UGH!!
Wed Jul 4, 2012, 09:25 AM
Jul 2012

Weather Channel used to be excellent. Then something happened and they started programming on the cheap - with more and more "long form" broadcasting and rarely breaking in during those programs, for coverage of ongoing or imminent extreme weather events. Then NBC Universal bought TWC and finally Comcast bought NBC Universal - afterwhich they have gone full speed ahead rebranding TWC with all things "NBC". I mean, why do I care about the Today show and political "news" on a weather-centric site? I'll go right to that site instead.

They'll probably end up using WU's hobbyist weather station data to fill in the point-forecast blanks in the TWC forecast pages.

Siwsan

(26,177 posts)
15. I don't want to lose the WunderMap!
Wed Jul 4, 2012, 09:41 AM
Jul 2012

That's the best weather map I've ever seen. The storm reports (snow depth, rain accumulation) aren't on the weather.com site. Or, if the are, I can't find them.

My biggest complaint about the weather channel is THEY DON'T REPORT THE LOCAL WEATHER! Oh, sometimes they do a crawler but when I wake up in the middle of the night and the weather is turning bad, I'd LOVE to be able to see what's coming. I really don't give a rats ass about what the Coast Guard does to train people.

intheflow

(28,407 posts)
24. WunderMap is an invaluable resource!
Wed Jul 4, 2012, 10:48 AM
Jul 2012

I live in a tornado alley and use it whenever those nasty storms pop up that could spin something even nastier. I have never, ever been able to find that kind of local info on TWC web site. It's a nightmare to navigate, and you're right about it not reporting local weather in most of the country.

Mojorabbit

(16,020 posts)
41. It is my go to for hurricanes and storm weather
Wed Jul 4, 2012, 07:27 PM
Jul 2012

Has been for years. This just breaks my heart. The weather channel sucks for this kind of info.

Auntie Bush

(17,528 posts)
44. My daughter loves it and keeps track of my weather to warn me of anything coming my way
Wed Jul 4, 2012, 08:22 PM
Jul 2012

I just look out the window to see what's up. Well, That's a Romney lie if I ever heard one. Speaking of looking out the window...it's getting really dark! I think we're about to have a nasty thunderstorm (scare the daylights out of my dog) an ruin all the fireworks.

CreekDog

(46,192 posts)
16. Weather underground has more scientific information, more accessible than Weather.com
Wed Jul 4, 2012, 09:48 AM
Jul 2012

weather.com, you can't even figure out where the station they are providing temperatures from is located.

i hope they keep weather underground as is, but if not, i may have to use NWS/NOAA instead.

Ikonoklast

(23,973 posts)
17. I always use the NOAA website, can't stand or trust The Weather Channel.
Wed Jul 4, 2012, 10:04 AM
Jul 2012

Eff 'em, just another website loaded with ads for garbage.

morningglory

(2,336 posts)
18. I live in Florida. This time of year, I check wunderground every morning. We have enough
Wed Jul 4, 2012, 10:14 AM
Jul 2012

experience to know when to gas up and get cash and pack the important papers. Weather.com is all about a hysterical presentation bent on keeping people tuned in. They try to stampede as many people as possible to Home Depot to buy plywood, every chance they get. You see it when a storm makes landfall, and is visibly breaking up: the talking heads go on saying "Hurricane Beulah is expected to make landfall around midnight (12 hours from now), so stay tuned right here...". That is no help when a time comes to evacuate people.

TwilightGardener

(46,416 posts)
25. Stupid. Well, now I guess I get to wait 20 minutes for the Wunderground page to load with all sorts
Wed Jul 4, 2012, 10:50 AM
Jul 2012

of animated ad bullshit, endless hurricane hype, stories about rescued kittens, and ski patrol adventures. Pretty much everything except WEATHER. Goddamn it.

 

heaven05

(18,124 posts)
31. surprised?
Wed Jul 4, 2012, 11:20 AM
Jul 2012

money, i bet a lot of pressure and with all the bad weather in the pike(global warming) the truth can't be told, I'm awake.

JHB

(37,132 posts)
32. 'Capitalists Against Capitalism' strikes again!
Wed Jul 4, 2012, 11:21 AM
Jul 2012

Promoting 'competition' by buying out their competition since the Age of Reagan.

If WC had really wanted to capture the segment of the market served by Wunderground, they were perfectly capable of setting up a division that did a better job of serving the interests of the "data people." That's capitalism, right? The spirit of competition?

Naww, f*** that! That would cost money and have the risk of not working. Why go to all that work (and do that job creation) when you can just buy out the other guys?

And really, who's going to complain about it now? It's been standard practice since Mergermania.

What's really important is that more money be shot upward to the 0.01% (including, in this case, Mittens himself as a Bain shareholder), and the hell with "serving the market".

raouldukelives

(5,178 posts)
33. Bah.
Wed Jul 4, 2012, 11:31 AM
Jul 2012

“It seems to happen all the time,” he said. “Something great gets invented and sold in the United States, and it gets bought up and destroyed.”

The continued takeover and assimilation of every damn thing by Wall St is very displeasing to me. One giant backscratching orgy of wasted money, wasted environments, wasted talents and wasted futures. All pushing for less unfiltered information sources to the masses, all demanding controlled messages and consumer friendly packaging. Working out well for the greedy bastards I'll say that.

csziggy

(34,120 posts)
34. I prefer the National Weather Service - nws.noaa.gov
Wed Jul 4, 2012, 11:39 AM
Jul 2012
http://nws.noaa.gov or http://www.weather.gov/

If you put in your city & state or your zip code under "Customize Your Weather.gov" and click "Remember Me" it will give you a quick weather report on the left instead.

If you want a more extended forecast, at the top under "Home" enter your info into the box marked "Local forecast by "City, St" or ZIP code" and that will take you to a page just for your area. This page 'expires' and cannot be permanently bookmarked.

For a permanent link scroll to the bottom and look for the link "Zone Area Forecast for {your area}" and click on that. The page you will arrive at is a permanent link or for a more graphic forecast click on the link at the top left that begins with NWS and has your city listed. I keep those pages bookmarked for quick access. The NWS {city} page will have links to warnings for your area and other links to important weather information for your area.

evilhime

(326 posts)
36. Yup, here too...
Wed Jul 4, 2012, 11:47 AM
Jul 2012

and thanks for the permanent links. Wunderground sadly has been slipping of late - service down, inaccurate numbers etc. So I have been going to NOAA when I need real information as opposed to just a quick temperature/humidity check.

JaneQPublic

(7,113 posts)
54. Another vote for weather.gov
Thu Jul 5, 2012, 12:57 AM
Jul 2012

Whenever there is extreme weather, all the other weather services report that "The National Weather Service has issued a..." So why not just go directly to the source?

klook

(12,134 posts)
37. They all get their data from the same place, I believe
Wed Jul 4, 2012, 11:55 AM
Jul 2012

-- the National Weather Service. A friend who used to work at the Weather Channel told me all they did was get the raw data from NWS / NOAA and pretty it up for TV & web presentation. Probably true of all of them, so you're just choosing between interfaces, presentation styles, advertising choices, and so on.

MyWeather.com is an excellent choice. I'm starting to use that one now. Thanks to Laura PourMeADrink for the recommendation!

hollysmom

(5,946 posts)
39. howl
Wed Jul 4, 2012, 01:07 PM
Jul 2012

another weather underground fan here - need good beach reports at the beach. It is hard to find information on the weather.com. will check out the myweather site now.

 

FarCenter

(19,429 posts)
48. Use the National Weather Service -- the single payer, single provider solution
Wed Jul 4, 2012, 09:20 PM
Jul 2012
http://weather.gov/

Why send clicks to Bain capital or other private corporations when you don't have to?

aquart

(69,014 posts)
51. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Thu Jul 5, 2012, 12:25 AM
Jul 2012

TWC with its bloated, memory-guzzling pretentious apps to eat my beloved home of Jeff Masters blog??? The place I spent all the days we waited for Katrina and then its aftermath?

I am dumbstruck with horror.

Lithos

(26,397 posts)
53. I can understand
Thu Jul 5, 2012, 12:55 AM
Jul 2012

Weather.com is wrong more than right... Wunderground is more right than wrong.

Completely agree with the sentiments... Facts over personalities.

L-

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