The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness
Capital Weather Gang

Weather Channel pulling plug on ‘Wake Up With Al’; Vivian Brown leaves network

By
September 2, 2015 at 11:03 a.m. EDT

The Weather Channel (TWC) is cancelling its morning show featuring the jovial and popular Al Roker. “Wake up with Al”, which airs from 5 to 7 a.m. eastern, will be discontinued some time this month.

The decision to ax the show was a financial one according to multiple reports. It is the Atlanta-based network’s only show out of New York City, where production costs are very high.

Get the full experience.Choose your plan

Co-hosted by meteorologist Stephanie Abrams, ‘Wake Up with Al” has aired on TWC for the past 6 years. A replacement program has not yet been announced nor is it clear what role, if any, Roker and Abrams will play.

“I’m proud of what our ‘Wake Up With Al’ team brought to the Weather Channel and completely understand the decision to move all shows to Atlanta,” Roker said. “I look forward to continuing to partner with the Channel on-air and through my production company on future traditional and digital projects.”

The cost-cutting measure comes at the same time TWC has seen its estimated value plummet. “As of June 30, Comcast valued its stake in the Weather Channel at only $86 million, down from $335 million at the end of last year,” The Wall Street Journal reported in July.

TWC’s conglomerate of owners, Comcast as well as the private equity firms Bain Capital and Blackstone Group, may sell the network, Bloomberg recently reported.

Vivian Brown says goodbye

A mainstay on The Weather Channel for almost 30 years, Vivian Brown, delivered her final weather report on the network Tuesday.

“It is with great disappointment that I have to announce that this is my last TV broadcast on the Weather Channel,” Brown said on the network Tuesday. “I don’t know exactly where I’m going next. I am saying goodbye, for now.”

TWC spokesperson Shirley Powell confirmed Brown’s departure: “Yesterday was Vivian Brown’s last day on-air with us. We thank her for her remarkable three decades of dedicated service to our viewers and fans and wish her the best. She completed an almost 30-year career with our network, something very few achieve anywhere in television.”

Loading...