Weather Channel changes forecast

Associated Press

NEW YORK

The Weather Channel is in the midst of a transformation, one that can be traced in part to an idle afternoon Al Roker spent surfing the Web a couple of years ago.

Pleased with the ratings earned by some new series, the network is increasing by 70 percent the amount of original programming it had planned to offer this year, and will debut at least one new show each month for the rest of the year.

Once the home primarily to meteorologists standing in front of maps, the new Weather Channel will be featuring Arctic pilots, iron workers, wind turbine and power line repairers and Coast Guard rescuers in both icy and tropical climates.

“It’s an evolution, not a revolution,” said Michael Dingley, the network’s senior vice president of content and development. “You want to respect the core viewers, but let’s invite new viewers into the tent.”

That’s an old motivation for profit-hunting cable networks, who know the key to success is grabbing casual viewers and holding them.

The Weather Channel recognized that it needed things to keep people watching for longer than it took for the next local forecast to pop up. Past attempts at programming, series like “Storm Stories,” tried this with a focus chiefly on the weather. Now network managers are embracing programs where the weather or other natural forces are just one of many characters.

Earlier this month the network premiered “Ice Pilots,” about people who fly in treacherous conditions.

“Coast Guard Alaska,” which details rescues in a forbidding climate, has done so well since its November premiere that The Weather Channel has already ordered a spinoff series involving a U.S. Coast Guard station in Florida.

The Coast Guard series come from Roker, who noticed some rescue videos that the agency had posted on YouTube. He quickly set up a meeting with the Coast Guard to put the series together.

Roker operates a production company that supplies material to Spike, HGTV, A&E, The Cooking Channel and now The Weather Channel.