NBC just bought the Weather Channel for $3.5 billion. What a shrewd bet! NBC gets on the ground floor of broadcasting ever-more-frequent extreme weather events. Can't wait for the programming in 2020!
It read like any business story in Monday's paper: Weather Channel Is Sold to NBC and Equity Firms.
An investor group led by NBC Universal and two private equity firms clinched a deal for the Weather Channel on Sunday after three weeks of negotiations.
Jeff Zucker, NBC Universal's CEO, thought the $3.5 billion price tag was a fair price. It bought him another #1 ranking.
“We’re No. 1 in business news, No. 1 in general broadcast news, and now we’re No. 1 in weather news too,” he said.
What a shrewd bet. NBC gets on the ground floor of broadcasting ever-more-frequent extreme weather events. Why right now, I just went to the Weather Channel and watched the latest reports about Hurricane Bertha, and a little news clip (preceded by an ad, of course) called "Lightning Strike Kills Jogger." A woman. At the beach. In Virginia. Sad.
Can't wait for the programming in 2020!
Keep in mind, NBC Universal is 80% owned by GE of Ecomagination fame. They know a lucrative climate-related business when they see one.
Just goes to show you.
Everyone talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about the climate.