The Weather Channel, part of Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group, said it plans to launch The Weather Channel Plus, a $4.99 a month streaming subscription service.
The Weather Channel Plus will offer more than 50 news and entertainment streaming channels with "aggregated high-profile content" when it launches in the fourth quarter, Allen Media said in a release.
Allen Media Group said it projects having 30 million subscribers within five years.
“The Weather Channel has been voted the most-trusted news brand in America for eleven consecutive years, and the fifth most-trusted brand in America overall, which makes it the perfect brand for a direct-to-consumer streaming platform,” said Allen, founder, chairman and CEO of Allen Media Group. “We’ve aggregated some of the best news and entertainment content while keeping it affordable and accessible at the same time. We are highly confident that consumers will enjoy The Weather Channel Plus streaming service for decades to come.”
Allen Media Group already offers free streaming services Local Now and The Grio. Like other "plus" OTT extensions of existing networks, The Weather Channel Plus would presumably not include the linear feed of The Weather Channel.
It owns 12 TV stations, plus networks such as Pets.TV, Comedy.TV, Recipe.TV, Cars.TV, ES.TV, MyDestination.TV, Justice Central.TV, This TV and Pattrn.
Allen's move to launch Weather Channel Plus comes as Fox News Media is set to launch an ad-supported weather service during later this quarter.
Last week, Fox Weather named some of the meteorologists who will be working on the new streaming service.
