IBM buying The Weather Company, but not The Weather Channel

[mvcg66b3r]

IBM hopes it has a new use for Watson, its artificial intelligence business.

The company announced on Wednesday that it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire most of the assets of the Weather Company, including a large number of weather data collection points, consumer and business applications and a staff of over 900 people.

IBM would not say how much it was paying for the business, but an earlier report in The Wall Street Journal put the deal at over $2 billion. The Weather Channel, a cable television outlet, was not part of the deal, but it would license weather forecast data from IBM.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/29/technology/ibm-to-acquire-the-weather-company.html?_r=0

The TV network will continue to operate as a standalone business, says Dave Shull, CEO of the newly-named Weather Channel Television Network.

“The Weather Channel will continue to be owned and supported by our existing shareholders — Bain Capital, Blackstone and NBCUniversal​,” said Shull in a statement. He continues:

Each month, almost half of all American households tune in to The Weather Channel network for coverage of severe weather, daily forecasts, and the science behind the weather. With our world class weather experts and thousands of localized versions of the network, we are uniquely positioned to provide the world’s best storm coverage as a hyper-local streaming service ​as well. We are continuing to invest in our strategic partnerships with our distributors, advertisers, and emerging technology start-ups.

The Weather Channel operates as a distinct and separate business with its own leadership team, which enables this to be a smooth and seamless transition. We believe a bright future lies ahead for the television business as the most trusted source of weather information.

http://www.adweek.com/tvnewser/foll...s-to-ibm-weather-channel-will-continue/275861

 

[K.M. Richards]

The company announced on Wednesday that it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire most of the assets of the Weather Company, including a large number of weather data collection points, consumer and business applications and a staff of over 900 people.

(Emphasis mine.)

Most of those weather data collection points are privately-operated weather stations, owned by individuals who have been feeding TWC affiliate Weather Underground without compensation. I wonder how many will either want to be paid now that IBM will "own" their data or will drop out.