Since the inception of the Glasgow EPB’s cable television system, The Weather Channel has been a staple programming provider and partner in both pricing negotiations and technical support. GEPB Cable customers have been able to rely on getting their essential local, regional, and national weather-related news and information from The Weather Channel, and the Glasgow EPB wishes for this relationship with The Weather Channel not to change.
However, the current agreement with The Weather Channel and NCTC (National Cable Television Cooperative, which Glasgow EPB cable is a member of) ends on February 28th, 2022, and new ownership of The Weather Channel, Allen Media Group, is currently demanding all 500+ members of NCTC pay a steep increase in price for The Weather Channel. In addition to the rate increase, Allen Media Group is also demanding the addition of eight other channels onto the essential tier of all NCTC member’s cable packages. These eight other channels, all owned by AMG (Allen Media Group), include Cars.TV, Comedy.TV, ES.TV, MyDestination.TV, Pets.TV, Recipe.TV, JusticeCentral.TV, and The Weather Channel en Espanol.
Allen Media Group, formed originally in 1993, is owned by Byron Allen. Allen is a long-time comedian and actor who has developed a global media portfolio through a number of acquisitions of popular medium-to-large market network TV affiliate stations and original content programmers. The group purchased The Weather Channel in 2018 for $300 Million.
The Glasgow EPB and its Cable Television Programming Committee is currently seeking the opinions of our cable TV customer base to see how they value The Weather Channel and what kind of rate increase they are willing to pay to keep the channel on GEPB cable. The committee is also wanting to gather thoughts and feelings towards the option of substituting The Weather Channel with another 24/7 weather-news network (i.e. WeatherNation, AccuWeather). Below is a survey where GEPB cable customers can provide that necessary input.