Today it was announced that Entertainment Studios Inc the company behind cable networks like Justice Central, Pets.TV, Cars.TV and more has purchased The Weather Channel and Local Now. Previously the channel was owned by a group of stations including The Blackstone Group and NBCUniversal. No word on how this sale will affect The Weather Channels deals with NBC’s Today show.
“The Weather Channel is one of the most trusted and extremely important cable networks, with information vitally important to the safety and protection of our lives,” said Byron Allen, Founder, Chairman, & CEO of Entertainment Studios. “We welcome The Weather Channel, which has been seen in American households for nearly four decades, to our cable television networks division. The acquisition of The Weather Channel is strategic, as we begin our process of investing billions of dollars over the next five years to acquire some of the best media assets around the world.”
“We are excited to join Entertainment Studios, and we are especially proud to be part of one of the largest emerging global media companies,” said Dave Shull, CEO of THE WEATHER CHANNEL. “Byron Allen’s purchase of our innovative and forward-thinking organization will increase the value we bring to our viewers, distributors, and advertisers.”
This sale does not include Weather.com as that was sold to IBM back in January 2016.
Full details of the sale have yet to be announced. The Weather CHannel was last sold to NBC Universal, Bain Capital, and Blackstone Group back in 2008 for $3.5 billion.
The Weather Channel currently streams on DIRECTV NOW and fuboTV. That is not expected to change with this sale.
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