DirecTV issues veiled threat in talks with Weather Channel

Heavy storms may be headed toward the Weather Channel. DirecTV, the El Segundo satellite broadcaster with more than 20 million subscribers around the country, has quietly started distributing a network called WeatherNation just as its deal to carry the Weather Channel is set to expire.

Although talks between the two companies are ongoing, DirecTV's decision to add WeatherNation is seen as a not-so-subtle threat that it is willing to drop the Weather Channel. Not only is DirecTV carrying WeatherNation, a small channel with very little reach or viewership, it has placed the network next to the Weather Channel on the dial, a move that could confuse viewers -- and has already annoyed Weather Channel executives. DirecTV, like many distributors, is eager to find ways to reduce programming costs. With sports programming driving up fees to carry channels such as Time Warner's TNT and TBS, distributors often try to squeeze smaller programmers as a way to save costs.

[Dec 26]