The country’s two leading climate-focused channels saw an uptick in viewership as multiple states braced for the impact of Hurricane Helene last week.
Nearly two million people tuned in to watch The Weather Channel’s coverage of Hurricane Helene during the 10 p.m. Eastern Time block last Thursday, according to Nielsen data shared with The Desk by Allen Media Group. The channel was the most-viewed across cable news networks during the day, a spokesperson said, with coverage spearheaded by a team of 12 reporters and meteorologists scattered across Florida, Georgia and North Carolina.
Fox News Media’s free, ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel Fox Weather won the overnight hours, with its simulcast on the Fox News Channel pulling in 696,000 overall viewers between the critical hours of midnight and 5 a.m. Eastern Time Friday, according to Nielsen data. The storm made landfall around 11:45 p.m. Eastern Time Thursday. By comparison, The Weather Channel had around 610,000 overall viewers during the same time period, according to Nielsen data provided by Fox.
The war between the two weather-focused channels has increased over the past few years, with Fox Weather poaching executives and top-name talent like hurricane expert Bryan Norcross and veteran field reporter Mike Seidel, both of whom helped spearhead the channel’s coverage of Hurricane Helene from its formation to its aftermath. Fox also has a fleet of storm-chasing trucks, called the Fox Weather Beast, that includes mobile technology to help its field reporters and forecasters provide up-to-the-minute data and real-time video to viewers back home.
At the same time, The Weather Channel has incorporated more technology into its broadcasts, including “Flood FX,” an augmented and virtual reality solution that simulates the effect of storm surge on communities.
Two years ago, The Weather Channel struck a partnership with CBS News that allows it to leverage The Weather Channel’s forecasters, data scientists and reporters to support its coverage of climate-related news. CBS News also gets access to The Weather Channel’s technology, including its Immersive Mixed Reality platform that gives viewers a “virtual view” of weather conditions.
The Weather Channel is available on leading cable and satellite platforms, plus streaming pay TV services like Frndly TV, YouTube TV and DirecTV Stream. Fox Weather is available on free streaming TV platforms like Tubi, Pluto TV, Xumo Play and YouTube.
