Weather Channel, Sun Broadcast Ink Partnership

RADIO ONLINE | Tuesday, October 6, 2015

The Weather Channel and Sun Broadcast Group have entered a network radio partnership in a move that the companys says "will change how listeners consume and interact with The Weather Channel team's national radio products." The multi-year deal will see Sun representing The Weather Channel national ad inventory but will also include using Sun's "Shazam for Radio" product to create interactive, broadcast radio weather forecasts.

The new hyper-local, Shazamable weather reports will allow listeners to use their Shazam app to launch an interactive forecast on their mobile phone, tablet or desktop. In addition to an automatic replay feature of the forecast and real-time sharing abilities across multiple platforms, the new services will also include localized extended forecasts, live radar maps, pollen reports and other detailed weather information to compliment The Weather Channel affiliates' current offerings.

"Radio is a very powerful medium for The Weather Channel due to its local reach, and local relevance is key to getting the most precise weather coverage and information to listeners," said The Weather Channel Radio Network General Manager Scott Lawrimore. "Sometimes it's hard to boil our expertise down to a 20-second weather hit. With Sun Broadcast Group's help, we hope to give the listener the added experience of being able to 'Shazam' our weather report and instantly learn more about the forecast on their smart phone. "

"As Sun continues our rapid growth we are constantly on the lookout for best-in-brand providers that understand, as we do, the changing radio landscape," added Sun Broadcast Group CEO Jason Bailey. "Not only is it an honor and privilege to represent The Weather Channel brand's extensive national radio network to our partners, clients and advertisers, but the commitment from both our companies to deliver the nation's first ever, fully interactive, broadcast radio weather reports is incredibly exciting."