NBC Weather Plus was a 24-hour, commercially-sponsored, weather-oriented broadcast/cable TV network jointly owned by NBC Universal & the local affiliates of the NBC network. It debuted on November 15, 2004. The network's headquarters was initially located @ the CNBC Global Headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. It was relocated to 30 Rock in Manhattan with MSNBC in the fall of 2007. The service is broadcast on DT subchannels of certain NBC affiliates in the US and is available on digital cable systems in a SDTV format.
Prior to 2008, NBC Wx+ competed with The Weather Channel, which was itself acquired by a consortium led by NBC Universal in September 2008, as well as a similar DT service offered by AccuWeather, The Local AccuWeather Channel. Shortly after the acquisition of TWC on October 7, 2008, NBC announced that Wx+ would be shut down by the end of 2008.
Programming[]
Local forecasts[]
The local forecasts are the part of NBC Wx+'s programming schedule which viewers see the current conditions & local forecast for their respective area. These forecasts are usually shown after most national forecast segments. Pre-recorded weather segments featuring local weather information from meteorologists of local NBC affiliates are shown proceeding weather information.
Viewers can see current weather conditions for their location & surrounding areas, weather forecasts, doppler radars of the region and the day's actual high and low temperatures.
Internet viewers who see the national feed, including those areas where the network's website does not supply a certain city's Weather Plus feed, instead see a segment including daily forecasts for each region of the United States and satellite loops and Doppler radars of the Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, Northwest, and Southwest, respectively. Unlike TWC, however, NBC Wx+ does not carry the national feed on DirecTV, Dish Network or C band satellite.
Music for the local forecasts comes mostly from commercially available music, including those composed by 615 Music, who composed the music package used by NBC Wx+.
For the most part, the local stations label the NBC Wx+ service as "Weather Plus" with the station branding before it, often being used in unison as the NBC station's on-air weather branding during newscasts. Many NBC affiliates use the "Weather Plus" branding for their on-air weather branding, though some do not.
WNBC in New York was the test station for NBC Wx+.
National programming[]
Almost all of NBC Wx+ programming is not broadcast live, a digital video jukebox system is used to shuffle certain segments (particularly during seasonal outlook and weather news segments as well as the network's late night programming), except in the event of severe weather of particular significance ongoing in the United States. A viewer that watched NBC Weather Plus in any given day would be able to see a weather news segment that originally aired in the morning repeated long into the night, the same weather information that had aired at 11:00 p.m. airing at 4:00 a.m., and the same seasonal outlook (severe weather, tropical weather, or winter weather) segment that originally aired in the morning repeating long into the late afternoon. In the latter instance, this was an issue as updated information may not have been available during any type of severe weather (unless very significant) that was ongoing.
Appearance on other networks[]
The channel's staff also provides weather updates for fellow NBC Universal cable channels CNBC and MSNBC and MSNBC airs 'sample' hours of the channel in holiday periods during the morning hours. In addition, Wx+ is promoted during Football Night in America and is used to provide gametime temperature and conditions for the later NBC Sunday Night Football game. Increasingly during times of significant national weather events (such as a major winter storm system), Wx+ meteorologists will appear live on NBC Nightly News to provide analysis.
The "L" Bar[]
NBC Wx+ uses an "L-Bar" across the left side 3rd and bottom 3rd of the screen to continuously air local weather information, even during commercial breaks, national weather and Weather Plus University.
The left side of the bar is reserved for sponsorship of Wx+ programming on the top left (sponsors of NBC Wx+'s programming is more often seen on local feeds), the middle left displays the sky condition, temperature, wind speed/direction and humidity for each city and the bottom left is reserved for station identification (on local feeds, featuring the NBC affiliate's logo augmented above the Wx+ portion of the logo) and current time is on the lower left. (During Weather Plus University, the sponsorship tag is removed).
The cycle for each city's weather information display are as follows:
- The current condition display cycle for 1 city runs for 20 seconds.
- The 24-hour forecast cycle runs for 10 seconds.
- The 5-day forecast cycle runs for 10 seconds.
However, the above does not hold true for the left side of the L-Bar on Sacramento NBC affiliate KCRA. Instead, the current conditions cycle continuously and the time is on the right-hand side in the lower-third.
The bottom of the bar to the right of the time & station ID displays the forecast for the next 24 hours featuring sky condition, temperature and estimated precipitation, followed by the 5-day forecast showing sky condition and predicted high and low temperatures. Occasionally, the current conditions display shows the icons telling the sky condition with the icon displaying sun despite it being nighttime. This also occurs on TWC but usually only in the hour following sunset. Not all cities where the current conditions are displayed on the left side of the "L" bar feature that city's forecast and may instead use the conditions of the closest reporting station to that community. For example: Dallas NBC affiliate KXAS' Wx+ feed displays the current conditions for Alliance Airport but shows the forecast for Dallas-Fort Worth.
DTV and cable viewers can see current weather conditions and weather forecasts for their location and surrounding areas, while internet viewers who see the national feed instead of a local feed, the bar displays current conditions and daily forecasts for 50 US cities.
Personalities[]
Former on-camera meteorologists[]
- Gary Archibald, now at The Weather Network
- Samantha Davies, Now works at KXAS
- Bill Karins
- Raphael Miranda
- Jackie Meretsky, now at ABC
- Britta Merwin, now at KCRA
- Jim Nichols
- Jeff Ranieri, now at KNTV
- Todd Santos
- Ibby Carothers
- Kristen Cornett, now at KMOV in St. Louis, MO
- Elise Finch, now at WCBS
- Michelle Grossman, now at WCAU
- Sean McLaughlin
- Byron Miranda
- Hillary Andrews
Programming schedule[]
The following list is the current half-hour programming cycle provided by NBC Weather Plus (as of September 2007). Note that some network segments may have a different title @ times due to a sponsor for the forecast such as State Farm Road Coverage, which replaces Coast To Coast Forecast.
| Time | Show | Duration | Descriptions |
|---|---|---|---|
| :00 | Local Weather | 4 minutes | Weather inserts from the local Weather Plus affiliate |
| :04 | Coast To Coast Forecast | 2 minutes | Regional forecasts for the Northeastern, Midwestern, Southeastern, Southwestern and Northwestern United States |
| :07.30 | Local Weather | 2 minutes | Weather inserts from the local Weather Plus affiliate |
| :09.30 | Severe Weather Outlook / Tropical Outlook | 4 minutes | A summary of ongoing or forecasted severe weather; the segment focused primarily on tropical weather from July to November and winter weather from December to March |
| :15 | Local Weather | 4 minutes | Weather inserts from the local Weather Plus affiliate |
| :19 | Plus Five Forecast | 2 minutes | Five-day national weather forecasts |
| :22.30 | Local Weather | 2 minutes | Weather inserts from the local Weather Plus affiliate |
| :25.00 | National feature segment or affiliate report spotlight | 5 minutes | A selected weather- or climate-related news report from NBC News or an NBC-affiliated station |
During severe weather, stations can choose to drop the national segments in favor of local coverage; the NBC Wx+ control room can then choose to show that feed nationally during the Coast To Coast Forecast or the Plus Five Forecast, depending on what part of the programming cycle the network is in. The local broadcast is shown live if possible.
NBC Wx+ also airs the "NBC Weather Plus Weather Alert," which interrupts regular programming when a breaking weather story occurs. Breaking severe weather news and images from a particular NBC affilate may be shown.
To fulfill FCC E/I requirements, NBC Wx+ shows Weather Plus University on Saturday and Sunday afternoons.
In late October 2008, the national OCM segments have been phased out, as well as some of the local Wx+ systems. This leaves with only 6 minute music forecast segments and commercial breaks.
Closure[]
NBC announced on October 7, 2008 that Wx+ would be phased out by the end of the year, after the NBC affiliates expressed a desire to shut the service down. Though NBC cited its purchase of TWC as a factor in the shutdown, it has been stated that the closure would have happened even if the acquisition had not happened.
According to NBC, Wx+ will begin its phase-out late November, with its closure date set for December 1, 2008.
Affiliates[]
| DMA | Market | NBC Wx+ Affiliate | DT subchannel | Digital cable channel | Station Owner | Replaced by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | New York | WNBC 4 | DT2 | Time Warner Cable 161 Comcast 248 RCN 189 Cablevision 109 (NY / NJ), 118 (CT) Verizon FiOS 860 (NY / NJ) |
NBC O&O | |
| #2 | Los Angeles | KNBC 4 | DT2 | Charter Communications 304 Comcast 193 COX Communications 804 Time Warner 1194 |
NBC O&O | |
| #3 | Chicago | WMAQ 5 | DT2 | Comcast 194 RCN 190 WOW! Internet Cable Phone 130 |
NBC O&O | |
| #4 | Philadelphia | WCAU 10 | DT2 | Comcast 248 | NBC O&O | |
| #5 | Dallas-Ft. Worth | KXAS 5 | DT2 | Time Warner Cable 365 Charter Communications 105 Verizon FiOS 860 |
NBC / LIN TV | |
| #6 | San Francisco | KNTV 11 | DT2 | Comcast 186 | NBC O&O | |
| #7 | Boston | WHDH 7 | DT2 | Comcast 297 | Sunbeam Television | |
| #8 | Atlanta | WXIA 11 | DT2 | Comcast 211 | Gannett | |
| #9 | Washington, D.C. | WRC 4 | DT2 | Comcast 208 COX Communications 803 Verizon FiOS 860 |
NBC O&O | |
| #10 | Houston | KPRC 2 | DT2 | Comcast 320 | Post-Newsweek Stations | This TV |
| #11 | Detroit | WDIV 4 | DT2 | Comcast 249 | Post-Newsweek | This TV |
| #12 | Phoenix | KPNX 12 | DT2 | COX Communications 83 Qwest Choice TV 66 |
Gannett | |
| #13 | Tampa | WFLA 8 | DT2 | Bright House 607 Knology 133 Comcast 243 |
Media General | |
| #14 | Seattle | KING 5 | DT2 | Comcast 115 Millennium Digital Media 108 |
Belo | |
| #15 | Minneapolis-St. Paul | KARE 11 | DT2 | Comcast 249 Time Warner Cable 1112 Charter Communications 391 |
Gannett | |
| #16 | Miami-Ft. Lauderdale | WTVJ 6 | DT2 | Comcast 216 | NBC O&O | |
| #17 | Cleveland | WKYC 3 | DT2 | Time Warner Cable 522 COX Communications 211 Comcast 208 WOW! Internet Cable Phone 130 |
Gannett | |
| #18 | Denver | KUSA 9 | DT2 | Comcast 249 | Gannett | |
| #19 | Orlando | WESH 2 | DT2 | Bright House Networks 1021 | Hearst-Argyle | |
| #20 | Sacramento | KCRA 3 | DT2 | Comcast 193 | Hearst-Argyle | |
| #21 | St. Louis | KSDK 5 | DT2 | Charter Communications 127 | Gannett | |
| #22 | Pittsburgh | WPXI 11 | DT2 | Verizon FiOS 460 Comcast 208 Armstrong 445 Former Adelphia 111 |
COX Enterprises | |
| #23 | Portland, OR | KGW 8 | DT2 | Comcast 308 | Belo | |
| #24 | Baltimore | WBAL 11 | DT2 | Comcast 208 Verizon FiOS 860 |
Hearst-Argyle | |
| #25 | Charlotte | WCNC 36 | DT2 | Time Warner Cable 221 | Belo | |
| #27 | San Diego | KNSD 39 | DT2 | COX Communications 107 Time Warner Cable 253 |
NBC / LIN TV | |
| #28 | Raleigh-Durham | WNCN 17 | DT2 | Time Warner 219 | Media-General | |
| #29 | Hartford-New Haven | WVIT 30 | DT2 | Comcast 248 COX 800 Cablevision 109 Charter 755 |
NBC O&O | |
| #31 | Kansas City | KSHB 41 | DT2 | Time Warner Cable 1442 | E.W. Scripps | |
| #32 | Columbus | WCMH 4 | DT2 | Time Warner Cable 80 Insight Communications 100 WOW! Internet Cable Phone 130 |
Media General | |
| #33 | Cincinnati | WLWT 5 | DT2 | Insight Communications 431 Time Warner Cable 906 |
Hearst-Argyle | |
| #34 | Milwaukee | WTMJ 4 | DT2 | Time Warner Cable 104 | Journal Broadcast Group | |
| #35 | Salt Lake City | KSL 5 | DT2 | Comcast 153 | Bonneville International | |
| #36 | Greenville / Spartanburg / Asheville | WYFF 4 | DT2 | Charter Communications 244 | Hearst-Argyle | |
| #37 | San Antonio | WOAI 4 | DT2 | Time Warner 80 GVTC 130 Grande Communications 130 |
Clear Channel | |
| #38 | West Palm Beach | WPTV 5 | DT2 | Comcast 216 | E.W. Scripps | |
| #40 | Birmingham | WVTM 13 | DT2 | Bright House Networks 183 Charter 653 |
Media-General | |
| #41 | Lancaster | WGAL 8 | DT2 | Comcast 248 Blue Ridge Cable 136 |
Hearst-Argyle | |
| #43 | Las Vegas | KVBC 3 | DT2 | COX Communications 124 | Sunbelt Communications Company | |
| #44 | Albuquerque-Santa Fe | KOB 4 | DT2 | Comcast 208 | Hubbard Broadcasting | |
| #45 | Oklahoma City | KFOR 4 | DT2 | COX Communications 247 | Local TV | |
| #46 | Greensboro | WXII 12 | DT2 | Time Warner Cable 541 | Hearst-Argyle | |
| #47 | Memphis | WMC 5 | DT2 | Time Warner Cable 4 | Raycom Media | |
| #48 | Louisville | WAVE 3 | DT2 | Insight Communications 128 Frankfort Plant Board Digital 150 | Raycom Media | |
| #49 | Buffalo | WGRZ 2 | DT2 | Time Warner Cable 114 Time Warner Cable of Olean 111 | Gannett | |
| #50 | Jacksonville | WTLV 12 | DT2 | Comcast 201 | Gannett | |
| #51 | Providence | WJAR 10 | DT2 | COX Communications 800 Comcast 750 Full Channel 190 |
Media General | |
| #54 | New Orleans | WDSU 6 | DT2 | COX Communications 108 Charter Communications 183 |
Hearst-Argyle | |
| #55 | Fresno | KSEE 24 | DT2 | Comcast 195 | Granite Broadcasting | |
| #56 | Albany | WNYT 13 | DT2 | Time Warner Cable 556 Adelphia 169 Berkshire Digital Cable 713 |
Hubbard Broadcasting | |
| #59 | Mobile / Pensacola | WPMI 15 | DT2 | COX Communications 716 Comcast 194 |
Clear Channel | |
| #60 | Knoxville | WBIR 10 | DT2 | Comcast 196 Charter Communications 196 | Gannett | |
| #61 | Richmond | WWBT 12 | DT2 | Comcast 208 FiOS 860 |
Raycom Media | |
| #62 | Tulsa | KJRH 2 | DT2 | COX Communications 222 | Scripps-Howard Broadcasting | |
| #64 | Fort Myers | WBBH 20 | DT2 | Comcast 247 | Waterman Broadcasting Corporation | |
| #71 | Toledo | WNWO 24 | DT2 | Time Warner Cable 80 Buckeye CableSystem 626 |
Barrington Broadcasting | |
| #72 | Honolulu | KHNL 13 | DT2 | Oceanic Time Warner 115 | Raycom Media | |
| #73 | Des Moines | WHO 13 | DT2 | Mediacom 246 | Local TV | |
| #74 | Portland | WCSH 6 | DT2 | Time Warner Cable 166 | Gannett | |
| #76 | Springfield, MO | KYTV 3 | DT3 | Mediacom 212 | Schurz Communications | |
| #77 | Spokane | KHQ 6 | DT2 | Comcast 114 | The KHQ Television Group | |
| #78 | Rochester, NY | WHEC 10 | DT2 | Time Warner Cable 110 | Hubbard Broadcasting | |
| #79 | Syracuse | WSTM 3 | DT3 | Time Warner Cable 133 | Barrington Broadcasting | |
| #83 | Columbia, SC | WIS 10 | DT2 | Time Warner Cable 806 | Raycom Media | |
| #84 | Huntsville | WAFF 48 | DT2 | Comcast 194 Knology 133 Mediacom 99 |
Raycom Media | |
| #86 | Chattanooga | WRCB 3 | DT2 | Comcast 244 Charter Communications 196 |
Sarkes-Tarzian, Inc. | RTN |
| #87 | Jackson, MS | WLBT 3 | DT2 | Time Warner Cable 102 | Raycom Media | |
| #89 | Waterloo / Cedar Rapids | KWWL 7 | DT2 | Mediacom 22 & 107 Cedar Falls Utilities 11 |
Quincy Newspapers | |
| #90 | Burlington | WPTZ 5 | DT2 | Burlington Telecom 305 | Hearst-Argyle | |
| #91 | Brownsville | KVEO 23 | DT2 | Communications Corp of America | ||
| #93 | Baton Rouge | WVLA 33 | DT2 | COX Communications 133 | White Knight Broadcasting | |
| #95 | Waco / Temple | KCEN 6 | DT2 | Frank Mayborn Enterprises, Inc. | ||
| #96 | Peoria | WEEK 25 | DT2 | Comcast 138 | Granite Broadcasting | |
| #98 | Johnstown | WJAC 6 | DT2 | Atlantic Broadband 11 Former Adelphia 106 |
COX Enterprises | |
| #99 | El Paso | KTSM 9 | DT2 | Time Warner Cable 1302 | Communications Corp of America | |
| #103 | Myrtle Beach | WMBF 32 | DT2 | TBA | Raycom Media | |
| #106 | Fort Wayne | WISE 33 | DT3 | Comcast 249 | Granite Broadcasting Corporation | VIPIR Radar |
| #110 | Reno | KRNV 4 | DT2 | Charter Communications 224 | Sunbelt Communications Company | |
| #111 | Tyler | KETK 56 | DT2 | Suddenlink 222 | Communications Corp of America | |
| #113 | Traverse City | WPBN 7 | DT3 | Charter Communications 201 | Barrington Broadcasting | |
| #115 | Sioux Falls | KDLT 46 | DT2 | Midcontinent Communications 606 Knology 132 |
Red River Broadcasting | |
| #117 | Montgomery | WSFA 12 | DT2 | Bright House Networks 213 / 228 Knology 121 Charter Communications 183 |
Raycom Media | |
| #123 | Lafayette | KPLC 7 (Lake Charles) WVLA 33 (Baton Rouge) |
DT2 DT2 |
COX Communications 130 (KPLC) | Raycom | |
| #124 | Salinas | KSBW 8 | DT2 | Comcast Ch. 186 | Hearst-Argyle | |
| #126 | Yakima | KNDO 23 | DT3 | Charter Communications 287 | The KHQ Television Group | |
| #126 | Kennewick / Pasco / Richland | KNDU 25 | DT3 | Charter Communications 287 | The KHQ Television Group | |
| #130 | Chico / Redding | KNVN 24 | TBA | TBA | Evans Broadcasting of Chico, L.L.C. | |
| #131 | Amarillo | KAMR-TV 4 | DT2 | Suddenlink 7 | Nexstar Broadcasting | |
| #136 | Wilmington | WECT 6 | DT2 | Time Warner Cable 939 | Raycom Media | |
| #137 | Duluth | KBJR 6 | DT3 | Charter Communications 391 | Granite Broadcasting | |
| #139 | Columbia, MO | KOMU 8 | DT2 | Mediacom 247 | University of Missouri | |
| #145 | Albany, GA | WALB 10 | DT2 | Mediacom 26 | Raycom Media | |
| #147 | Lubbock | KCBD 11 | DT2 | COX Communications 112 | Raycom | |
| #152 | Bangor | WLBZ 2 | DT2 | Time Warner Cable 166 | Gannett | |
| #155 | Steubenville / Wheeling | WTOV 9 | DT2 | Comcast 208 Jefferson County Cable 11 |
COX Enterprises | |
| #163 | Pocatello | KPVI 6 | DT2 | Sunbelt Communications Company | ||
| #165 | Hattiesburg / Laurel | WDAM 7 | DT3 | Comcast 243 | Raycom | |
| #175 | Lake Charles | KPLC 7 | DT2 | Suddenlink 247 | Raycom | |
| #178 | Marquette, MI | WLUC 6 | DT2 | Charter Communications 306 | Barrington Broadcasting | |
| #181 | Charlottesville | WVIR 29 | DT2 | Comcast 208 | Waterman Broadcasting Corporation | |
| #196 | Lima | WLIO 35 | DT3 | Block Communications |
Logos[]
