Early May 2024
Then, there’s a market for the weather data - a multi-billion dollar market
Just got off the phone with my wife who is visiting her mother just north of Houston. The conditions are reminiscent of Harvey. Some in Houston are saying it is worse.
https://youtu.be/Co0PcZxTUco?si=gH9kII2c1NZBHYdg
Cheers
Qazulight
Also, the actual reporting of weather is big business, and the businesses want to monetize that information ( of course ). Not sure if this is still the case, as it’s not just government satellites put into low earth orbit, but in the past The Weather Channel, or Accuweather, used data collected by NOAA or NWS, and based their forecasts and put together content based on data that was received from government entities. And these companies want to take that data from tax payer funded equipment and personnel and sell it to the tax payers ( ie citizens that watch their shows ). And if emergency reports from say the NWS were no longer released to the public in a timely manner, then people would be kind of forced to subscribe to weather services offered by companies.
I hope it doesn’t come to t that.
The weather is big business – and that’s tough for government forecasters - The Washington Post
There was a push by the administration, in the early 80s to privatize the weather service, because, ideology.
Thing is, creating hysteria about the weather is big business now. So the profit motive of withholding weather information collides with the profit motive of creating hysteria about the weather.
Steve
the profit motive of withholding weather information collides with the profit motive of creating hysteria about the weather.
I can see that. So everybody is caught in the middle. But as a tax paying citizen, if I lived in tornado alley, or hurricane alley, I’d just want any emergency forecast to be instantly put out by the government NWS, not by the for-profit entities. Don’t need to be “entertained” by a talking head.
A recent post by Qazulight about the upcoming hurricane season was real interesting. We’ll see how it all turns out, but the citizens of that region deserve to have reliable and timely forecasts based on the best available information, their lives could very well depend on it. Don’t think it’s a good plan to have local news, or Accuweather, perhaps having to make a forecast that is biased by the fact that they receive ad revenue from say the tourist industry of Florida, for instance.
Don’t know if you have it “up north”, but in metro Detroit, the local “news” always follows it’s weather hysteria with a reminder to get their weather “app”. I don’t know if their “app” is adware, spyware, or both, but they hype it so consistently, and link it to their daily weather hysteria, that they must be making money off it.
Steve
We used to supply the computers used by Earthwatch Communications. When it was sold, the business went elsewhere.
“EarthWatch Communications is a software company that specializes in 3-D weather graphics technology. Paul Douglas, a TV meteorologist, founded the company in 1989 while working at KARE-TV. EarthWatch’s software is used by hundreds of television stations in the United States and 20 other countries. Steven Spielberg also used EarthWatch’s 3-D effects in the movies Jurassic Park and Twister.”
I don’t remember the last time I watched the local news, but it’s a copy-cat business, so they’re probably pushing an ad-laden App here,too. And for certain they’re making money off of it. In big metro areas like you’re in, there are a whole lotta eyeballs to monetize. 1 nice thing about living in an area with a lot of outdoor recreation possibilities, it’s easy to ignore TV and the constant pushing of basically everything that is for sale. Life is too short to get hypnotized by that junk.
I’ll be in the D soon, looking forward to the annual visit to see the Tigers play. I like visiting Detroit, don’t want to live there, but it sure is a thriving big City nowadays. Hope it’s warm. Passed up a chance to see Neil Young down there this summer, watched some of his tour clips on utube and don’t think he sounds all that good ( don’t mean to be harsh, we’re all getting older ). But a bunch of friends are going, they figure it’ll be their only chance to see him.
Steve, have you considered turning off the TV and taking a walk? Or getting a hobby? Reading a book? Getting your weather off your phone instead of watching the talking heads?
Steve, have you considered turning off the TV and taking a walk? Or getting a hobby? Reading a book? Getting your weather off your phone instead of watching the talking heads?
My 1980s phone does not receive weather the way you are thinking. I take a walk every weekday that the weather is decent. I have lots of hobbies. The last book I read “Invasion” is an alt history of a successful German invasion of the UK in July 1940, Finished that a couple weeks ago. Not credible, imho, in the way it depicts the collapse of the RAF and how ineffective the RN was.
Steve
As of a couple years ago they were not. Things may have changed. For a while it was used as a marketing throw-in for an ad buy (“Take 30 spots over the week and we’ll toss in 50,000 impressions on the app”). Structurally “apps” for tv stations weren’t big enough to fund their own sales team, and when you rely on the ad-sales team, well, they’re going to sell where the big dollars are: TV spots.
As I say that may have changed. I haven’t talked to any of my friends in that business in a while.
TV stations like them though because they’re easy to use, not costly to operate; and the hope is that it cements a relationship between user and station. All very squishy concepts, I know.