How Weather can help differentiate a Broadcasting Station
In the highly competitive media and broadcasting industry, distinguishing your station from others is essential for maintaining and growing your viewership. Weather, a significant driver of audience engagement, offers a unique opportunity to set a station apart. By leveraging advanced weather forecasting tools and unique data sources, broadcasters can enhance their station’s reputation for reliability and precision, attracting more viewers and increasing revenue.
Weather’s Key Role in Broadcasting
Weather plays a pivotal role in driving viewership, which in turn drives revenue. Research indicates that weather is one of the top reasons viewers tune into local newscasts (Triblive.com). For station websites, weather updates are equally vital, often being a major draw for online visitors seeking the latest forecasts and weather-related news. Local weather segments can generate significant engagement, influencing audience loyalty and providing opportunities for sponsored content and advertising. By prioritizing weather coverage, stations can boost overall viewership, not just during newscasts but across their digital platforms as well.
Weather is Becoming More Extreme
As our atmosphere continues to change, we are witnessing an increase in the frequency and volatility of damaging weather events. Communities rely more than ever on reliable weather broadcasts to stay informed and safe. However, the growing volatility of extreme weather makes these events harder to predict and track (and communicate impacts to the community). This increased unpredictability necessitates more advanced forecasting techniques and technologies.
To address the new norms in extreme weather, stations need weather insights powered by more observational sources and managed with the latest technological advancements in data processing and assimilation. AI and machine learning are critical in this evolution, offering enhanced capabilities to analyze vast amounts of data and generate more accurate forecasts. By integrating these technologies, stations can provide viewers with timely, precise information that can significantly impact their daily lives and safety.
Don’t Rely on Data That Everyone is Using
Most stations rely on the same commodity observational weather data from the National Weather Service. While valuable, this data has limitations, such as coverage gaps in the NEXRAD system. Additionally, reliance on common data sources can result in homogenized forecasts that do not differentiate one station from another.
To truly stand out, a TV station needs to go beyond the standard data available to everyone and incorporate unique, high-resolution data sources that provide a competitive edge in weather forecasting. Custom data sets and proprietary technology can enhance forecast accuracy, providing more localized and relevant information to viewers. This differentiation is key in building a reputation for superior weather coverage.
Climavision Radar – A New and Proprietary Data Source
Climavision addresses critical observation gaps in U.S. weather radar coverage with advanced high-resolution weather radar systems. Our supplemental radar network provides real-time streaming radar data for more comprehensive coverage at lower atmospheric levels. Traditionally, stations have had to invest heavily in radar systems, but with Climavision’s Radar-as-a-Service (RaaS), we provide all the data a station needs to keep their community informed and safe without the burden of maintenance and unexpected capital expenses.
- Climavision’s X-band Radar: Our network supplies supplemental data to serve underserved communities with real-time high-resolution data. To read more about X-Band and other weather radars, explore our radar guide.
- Consulting and Sponsorship: Our team consults local experts to determine the most effective locations for addressing inadequate radar coverage. Additionally, our radar data can be sponsored, generating revenue for broadcast stations.
- Seamless Integration: Our cloud-based integration with The Weather Company ensures that our data is seamlessly incorporated into the MAX mobile app and MAX web interactive map, without adding any lift to a station’s engineering team.
By utilizing Climavision’s advanced radar technology, a station can provide more precise and reliable weather coverage, filling the critical gaps left by NEXRAD. This improvement not only enhances viewer trust but also positions a station as a leader in weather reporting.
Climavision’s Boonville, Missouri radar captured a tornado that occurred in the city of Tipton on April 28, 2024. In comparison with the velocity data from KEAX (west of Tipton, near Kansas City) and KLSX (east of Tipton, in St. Louis) Climavision’s Boonville radar presented the clearest imagery.
Horizon AI Forecasting Suite – Global Vision, Local Clarity
Beyond enhanced radar data, we are revolutionizing weather forecasting by expanding and enhancing data sets to significantly improve forecast accuracy. Our Horizon AI Weather Forecasting Suite integrates unique observational data, assimilated at higher rates than standard government forecasts, to provide superior accuracy through our advanced NWP models and High-Performance Computing capabilities. By integrating the Horizon AI Forecasting Suite into a station’s weather reporting, viewers can be offered an unparalleled level of detail and accuracy. This not only improves public safety but also strengthens a station’s reputation for cutting-edge weather coverage.
Horizon AI HIRES
Our Horizon AI HIRES weather model offers hyper-local predictions tailored to improve a station’s forecasting accuracy. Utilizing the latest AI techniques, we maintain quality control and increase computational power, ensuring you don’t have to choose between accuracy and speed.
Benefits of Horizon AI HIRES:
- Increase viewership with enhanced, hyper-local forecast data.
- Rapid forecast updates keep the weather team ahead of the competition.
- Pinpoint forecasts ensure the station becomes the most reliable weather source for every viewer.
Horizon AI HIRES 10 m Max Wind Speed
Horizon AI Global
Our Horizon AI Global weather model generates highly accurate, high-resolution forecasts to mitigate risks to communities locally, statewide, nationwide, and globally. We incorporate billions of novel observational datapoints into our advanced NWP model to forecast atmospheric threats more accurately.
Benefits of Horizon AI Global:
- Equip the weather team with long-term model data extending up to two weeks.
- Provide viewers with an enhanced view of impactful weather over the next several days.
- More accurately forecast for different regions within the market.
Horizon AI Global’s Hurricane Ian Track 2022
Differentiate TV Stations With Climavision
By incorporating advanced technologies and data sources, broadcasting stations can elevate their weather coverage, making it a cornerstone of their programming strategy. This commitment to excellence in weather forecasting will build a loyal audience that consistently tunes in to the station for the most reliable weather information available.
Access to Climavision’s radar and forecasting data enables TV meteorologists to deliver highly accurate forecasts specific to viewers’ locations. This enhances credibility, increases viewer engagement, and provides better service, ultimately positioning meteorologists as trusted weather experts in their communities. To learn how Climavision can elevate a station’s weather coverage and help them stay ahead of the competition with accurate real-time radar insights and precision forecasts tailored to their audience’s needs, contact us here.