IBM buys digital assets of Weather Channel’s parent company

Weather Channel parent the Weather Co. is selling its digital forecast information properties to IBM.

The deal means the cable TV channel will be separated from its online and mobile properties such as Weather.com and Weather Underground, which had become the driver of business growth in recent years.

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“The Weather Channel will continue to be owned and supported by our existing shareholders — Bain Capital, Blackstone and NBCUniversal — and operate as a standalone business,” Dave Shull, CEO of the Weather Channel Television Network, said in a statement. “We believe a bright future lies ahead for the television business as the most trusted source of weather information.”

The Weather Channel will enter a long-term license agreement with IBM, giving it access to all of the forecast data from the technology that’s being sold. The acquisition price was not disclosed.

Weather Co. CEO David Kenny will join the Armonk, N.Y.-based IBM, which will integrate the acquired assets into its Internet business.

The Weather Co. owners reportedly were shopping its assets for a while. But interest focused on the digital businesses — including a weather forecasting app that is among the most-used in the U.S. — rather than the fully distributed cable network, which has been a part of the TV landscape since 1982.

As more TV viewers look at alternatives to cable, the Weather Channel is considered one of the channels most vulnerable, as forecasting information is widely available online. The channel has worked aggressively to combat the perception by stressing its in-depth storm coverage. It also has stepped up program development, creating more science-oriented programs aimed at weather enthusiasts.

As of August, Nielsen reports that the Weather Channel is available in 89.3 million homes, a year-to-year decline of 7.6%.

Last year, DirecTV, the nation’s largest subscription video service provider, refused to meet demands by the Weather Co. for an increase in fees to carry the Weather Channel, on the grounds that its content was widely available elsewhere. The Weather Channel was removed from DirecTV for three months before the two sides agreed to terms.

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