The Weather Channel is teaming up with the Google News Initiative to launch a fleet of high-definition cameras that will offer live, panoramic views of climate events across the United States.
The cameras are part of the new SkyFX Camera Network, which will provide the Weather Channel with 360-degree views from dozens of locations in real-time. Those cameras will supplement others used by the Weather Channel for its live coverage of weather news on a daily basis, and will include weather collection technology that will provide meteorologists at the network with actionable data that can be passed along to viewers during broadcasts.
“The SkyFX Camera Network in partnership with Google News Initiative furthers our mission to keep the public informed and prepared on weather conditions and threats across the country,” Byron Allen, the founder and CEO of the Weather Channel’s parent company Allen Media Group, said on Thursday. “We take our position as the most-trusted news network very seriously, and we will continue to innovate and launch new tools that enable us to deliver real-time, critical weather news and information that empowers individuals to take actionable steps to safeguard themselves and their loved ones during severe weather events.”
The partnership between the Weather Channel and the Google News Initiative builds on a long-standing partnership between Allen Media and Google, which includes services agreements with Google Cloud, Google TV marketing and the Google Play Store.
“This project exemplifies two key principles of Google and our Google News Initiative: using technology to help people all over the world,” Chrissy Towle, the director of news partnerships at Google, said in a statement. “SkyFX Camera Network demonstrates how a media outlet can develop a technological concept to provide its users with relevant information, as well as a product that will be used for the benefit and improvement of people’s lives. We are thrilled to be a part of this project.”
Live cameras have become an increasingly important tool for weather broadcasters who are looking to add to their real-time coverage of severe storms and other climate-specific events. Two years ago, Fox News Media said its free streaming service, Fox Weather, would tap into a network of more than 100,000 high-definition cameras located across the country, to include dozens of feeds provided by its Fox-owned stations.
