[Infowarrior] - Apocalypse? Weather Channel to run movies...

[Richard Forno]

See also: "The ABCs of TLC, GSN and A& E: Niche networks skew younger  
to avoid ending up MIA"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/29/AR2009102904501.html?hpid=sec-artsliving



Weather Channel to air movies for first time
http://tinyurl.com/yle77wz

By DAVID BAUDER, AP Television Writer David Bauder, Ap Television  
Writer – Tue Oct 20, 3:41 pm ET
NEW YORK – The Weather Channel plans to show movies for the first time  
in its 27-year history and it's easy to guess which one is leading off.

"The Perfect Storm," of course.

The George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg movie about a horrific storm off  
the New England coast will air on Oct. 30, the 18th anniversary of the  
actual storm. Network executives had been thinking about adding  
movies, and the timing proved too good to pass up, said Geoffrey  
Darby, the network's chief programmer.

The network in recent years gradually slipped in longer programming,  
including a morning show hosted by Al Roker, to complement its  
constantly rotating forecasts.

"The Perfect Storm" begins a four-week period in which The Weather  
Channel will try some Friday night movies.

The films are either weather-themed or have plots in which weather  
plays a key role, Darby said. Meteorologist Jennifer Carfagno will  
host movie night and offer commentary.

Other movies include the documentary "March of the Penguins," the  
thriller "Deep Blue Sea" and "Misery," for which Kathy Bates won an  
Academy Award.

The weather angle is pretty clear in "The Perfect Storm," but  
"Misery"? Darby noted the nightmare endured by James Caan's character  
begins with a blinding snowstorm.

For The Weather Channel, the risk lies in alienating its regular  
weather-obsessed viewers, who tune in for news of high pressure  
systems rather than high drama. The potential reward is that new fans  
will tune in, and they'll stay on the station for a longer period,  
pleasing advertisers.

Darby said most viewers on Friday night aren't interested in much more  
than the weekend forecast, and that will be updated on the screen six  
times an hour.

"It's a way to respond to at least a significant portion of our  
audience that says, `Let's expand the definition of weather,'" he said.

The idea predates NBC Universal's purchase of The Weather Channel,  
Darby said. None of the first four movies are distributed by NBC  
Universal.