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The Weather Network

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The Weather Network
TypeCable network / Satellite (Weather/meteorology)
Country
 Canada
AvailabilityNational
OwnerPelmorex Inc. / Landmark Communications
Key people
Unknown
Launch date
1 September 1988 (as WeatherNow)
1 May 1989 (as current)
Official website
http://www.theweathernetwork.com
File:12092005-04.JPG
Morning on-air personalities Kim MacDonald and Chris Murphy on December 9, 2005.
File:12062005-06.JPG
Morning on-air personalities Karen Johnson and Tom Reynolds on December 6, 2005.
File:ScottPlouffe.jpg
Primetime on-air personalities Chris Scott and Sheryl Plouffe.
File:Theweathernetwork1.jpg
Primetime on-air personality Anne Marie Sweeney in April 2006.

The Weather Network, known as WeatherNow from 1988 to 1989, is a Canadian cable television specialty channel and web site which provides accurate weather information 24 hours a day.

The network's original name, when it launched on September 1, 1988, was WeatherNow. It gained its present name on May 1, 1989.

The channel is similar to the American Weather Channel, but is owned and operated by a Canadian company, Pelmorex. In turn, Pelmorex is also partly owned by the same company, Landmark Communications, who owns and operates The Weather Channel.

Pelmorex employs its own in-house meteorologists who work behind the scenes to make forecasts and graphical weather products. Meteorologists use Pelmorex's own in-house technology called Pelmorex Forecast Engine or PFE.

Based in Oakville, Ontario, The Weather Network also operates a French language channel called MétéoMédia. The station also has a separate feed for the Greater Toronto Area, much like MétéoMédia's separate feed for Metropolitan Montreal, Quebec.

The network has gained some criticism for its excessive use of advertising through commercials and forecasts that are brought to you by various companies. There is less time for detailed forecasts and more time spent on advertising. The same problem also occurs in the U.S. based Weather Channel. In the past, there was little to no advertising.

Pelmorex has undertaken a project that would create a national warning system called All Channel Alert, similar to the Emergency Alert System in the United States. This system is still waiting for CRTC approval.

A notable feature of The Weather Network is its useful Local Forecast. On satellite providers, it is simply a two minute runthrough of local weather conditions in various major centres across Canada. It gives viewers the current temperature, wind speed and weather conditions, as well as that same information for the rest of the day and the two days subsequent to that. On cable providers, a comprehensive report for the nearest weather station to the cable head-end is given, from current conditions all the way to two-week forecasts. The Local Forecast occurs "every 10 minutes on the tens".

In 2006 Bell Expressvu and The Weather Network started an iTV interactive version of The Weather Network. Enabling viewers to set their city and view specific forecasts everytime.

Chris Scott is The Weather Network's on-camera Meteorologist. He and five other TWN presenters are members of the Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society (CMOS).

Current On-Air Personalities

Weekdays

Weekends

Bureau Correspondents

On-Call Presenters

Former On-Air Personalities (In Alphabetical Order)

Former Programs (In Alphabetical Order)

TV Schedule

The Weather Network follows a schedule which repeats itself each hour, based on the current season.

See also

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