The Weather Channel Ranks #1 Among Cable Networks During Live Coverage Of Hurricane Ida

ATLANTA, Sept. 21, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Weather Channel television network continues to dominate as America's go-to source for weather news and information on TV after ranking as the #1 cable network amid Hurricane Ida's landfall (August 29) for Total Day among adults 25-54, according to Nielsen data.

The Weather Channel was also ranked the #1 cable network for reach, with 28.3M+ viewers tuning in over the first three days of Hurricane Ida's strike on the Gulf Coast (August 28 - August 30). Over the course of the network's five days of around-the-clock coverage (August 27 - August 31), The Weather Channel reached over one in four households and experienced strong viewer engagement among adults 25-54, averaging 127 minutes in time spent viewing.

The network's coverage of Hurricane Ida also led to a sharp spike in traffic to the network's other platforms, inspiring more than 210K new downloads of The Weather Channel OTT app and more than 70M minutes of coverage consumed on the app across the five days of the storm.

COVERAGE HIGHLIGHTS

Hurricane Ida - a deadly storm that became one of the most intense to ever make landfall in the state of Louisiana - wreaked havoc across the United States, slamming the Gulf Coast as a Category 4 Hurricane before heading to the Northeast where it weakened to a tropical depression but remained powerful, bringing historic flash flooding and severe weather conditions to one of the most populous regions in the country.

Through it all, The Weather Channel television network was on the ground providing live, around-the-clock, life-saving coverage for viewers in all regions impacted by the storm, from New Orleans to New York City:

• The Weather Channel had 11 teams reporting around the clock from locations including New Orleans, Louisiana; Morgan City, Louisiana; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Gulfport, Mississippi; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Mullica Hill, New Jersey.
• Jim Cantore, who covered Hurricane Katrina for The Weather Channel in 2005, returned to the region as he tracked Ida's devastation in Louisiana, including captivating interviews and tours of the damage in Grand Isle, where Ida made landfall and brought forth a powerful storm surge. The barrier island of Grand Isle saw extreme flooding and significant damage to most of its structures.
• In studio, The Weather Channel continued to push the visual boundaries of storm coverage by releasing Immersive Mixed Reality (IMR) segments showcasing important life-saving information.
• Hurricane and Storm Expert Greg Postel also walked viewers through the potential storm surge for the Northern Gulf Coast while stressing the importance of listening to local officials when it comes to evacuation plans. The segment showed how water levels could reach up to nine feet in some areas.

About The Weather Channel
Since its launch over 39 years ago, The Weather Channel television network has become the top-rated and most widely distributed weather network in America. The Weather Channel television network has been the leader in severe weather coverage, providing the most comprehensive analysis of any media outlet and serving as the nation's only 24-hour source of national storm coverage. With trusted meteorologists who analyze, forecast and report the weather, its expertise is unrivaled. In 2018, the Ipsos poll ranked The Weather Channel as the most trusted name in news media and in 2019, The Weather Channel won an Emmy for its coverage of its new Immersive Mixed Reality technology. For 11 years in a row, Harris Poll has ranked The Weather Channel as the "TV News Brand of the Year."

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SOURCE The Weather Channel