The Weather Channel [Hardcover]

Frank Batten (Author), Jeffrey L. Cruikshank (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2, 2002

Twenty years ago, who'd have believed that millions of viewers would follow the twists and turns of storms developing across the globe with the rapt attention once reserved for thriller movies? And that a single television channel could simultaneously inform and entertain us, enrich our lives and, at times, help save them? This is the remarkable story of The Weather Channel, a cable network that succeeded when almost all the experts predicted it would fail. Told by one of the key figures in the network's success, former Chairman and CEO Frank Batten, this is at once a deeply personal account of high-stakes entrepreneurship and a fascinating case study of a media business both experiencing and driving major change. There are colorful personalities-from the on-camera meteorologists to the whiz kids recruited to help build the company's core technology. There are adventures and dramas-from the glitch-filled national launch that was saved by luck and a mysterious stranger to The Weather Channel's near-death experience as its owner, Landmark Communications, was poised to lose its entire $31 million investment in the network. There are unexpected plot twists, risky ventures, failures, and victories. Batten's engrossing narrative reveals for the first time how The Weather Channel works its magic-and the technological, meteorological, and business innovations that have made it all possible. He takes us behind the scenes as his unique network evolved from struggling start-up to media powerhouse, from editorial cartoon fodder to vital public service. Along the way, he shares hard-won business lessons on breaking from convention and taking educated risks; bringing a great idea to market; strengthening a brand; leveraging disruptive technologies; managing through failure; preserving a spirit of risk-taking through periods of intense growth; and more. An absorbing tale of success against the odds, this book will appeal to entrepreneurs in all industries, as well as to the millions of fans of The Weather Channel. Frank Batten is the retired Chairman and CEO of Landmark Communications, Inc., a private media company that owns newspapers, specialty publications, television stations, and The Weather Channel. Jeffrey L. Cruikshank is the founder of The Cruikshank Co., Inc., and the author or coauthor of numerous business books.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In 1982, Frank Batten flipped a switch and began what he called "a weather forecast that will never end." There's probably no better emblem of niche media than the Weather Channel and its super-specialized field of interest. After 20 years of mapping high-pressure fronts and covering hurricanes, however, "We have built one of the strongest brands anywhere in the media business," writes Batten, former chairman and CEO. Most of The Weather Channel concentrates on all the problems Batten and his media company experienced in the early 1980s when they hatched their idea for all-weather programming and struggled to get it on the air. "I'm sure that we tried to do too much, too fast," says Batten, who nevertheless endorses the too-much, too-fast approach: "I'm convinced that if we hadn't acted as aggressively as we did--if we hadn't spent the money, rushed down the road, and pushed ourselves and our partners ... The Weather Channel may never have been." Batten concludes by discussing the future of weather predictions (they're going to get a lot better, he thinks) and offering unconventional advice to aspiring media tycoons (don't offer stock options to employees). This book will appeal to aficionados of isobars and other weather events, as well as readers interested in how to start a thriving business. --John Miller

From Publishers Weekly

With the recent spate of books documenting the failure of hundreds of Internet startups, it's refreshing to read about the successful launch of a business in what was once a fledgling industry itself: cable television. The Weather Channel was born on May 2, 1982, less than two years after Good Morning America weatherman John Coleman brought his idea about a 24-hour channel dedicated to nothing but weather to Frank Batten, then chairman of Landmark Communications. In his comprehensive account of the channel's history, Batten details the many financial, technical and management obstacles the Landmark team overcame to get the service on the air and keep it there until it became profitable. As documented by Batten, the Weather Channel reached its low point in mid-1983 when, racked by losses, Landmark came within days of shutting down the operation, only to be saved by the cable system operators who agreed to pay subscriber fees to keep the service running. Given some breathing room, the Weather Channel steadily improved its programming and technology and, as Batten acknowledges, rode the wave of the explosive growth of cable television to the point where in 2000 the Weather Channel generated revenues of $320 million and attracted millions of loyal viewers. While the Weather Channel encountered some stormy times, its ultimate success proves that a sound business concept, hard work and a little luck can turn an idea into a national institution. Batten's book offers valuable business lessons that many entrepreneurs can learn from. 23 color photos.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Harvard Business Review Press; 1st edition (May 2, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1578515599
• ISBN-13: 978-1578515592
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #983,113 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Invaluable Component of "The Age of Information", June 11, 2002

By 

Robert Morris (Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Weather Channel (Hardcover)

Although I agree with others that tighter editing would have eliminated repetitions and the photos provided should have offered a better visual presentation of the channel's development and (especially) its operations, I still rate this book as highly as I do for several reasons. First, Batten (with Jeffrey L. Cruikshank) provides a compelling analysis of the challenges and problems he and his associates had to overcome to achieve the improbable business success of "a media phenomenon." Also, after having read this book, I had a much better understanding and appreciation of the value of what the Weather Channel now offers in this so-called "Age of Information." What if advanced warnings about severely inclement weather had been easily accessible in years past? How many lives would have been spared from natural disasters such as the hurricane which devastated Galveston Island in 1900?

For many people I personally know (including my wife), the Weather Channel is "must viewing" at the beginning and end of of each day. For them and countless others, it is the modern day equivalent of a crystal ball. For business travelers, which clothing to pack? For parents, what should the children wear to school? For those about to be involved in an outdoor activity (e.g. a Little League game, family picnic, or round of golf), "what's it going to be like?" Of course, born and raised in Chicago, I know how unpredictable the weather can often be. Years later, while living in Boston, I recall an elderly woman who called the meteorologist at a local television station to complain that "I now have four inches of `partly cloudy' in my basement!" In this book, Batten brilliantly achieves two major objectives: To tell a unique "business success story," and in process, thereby to explain why the Weather Channel has become so important to so many people.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An outstanding business book, May 16, 2002

By 

Donald E. Graham (Washington, DC USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Weather Channel (Hardcover)

I've been a friend and admirer of the author for almost thirty years. But I can be objective enough to say that you won't read a better business book this year than The Weather Channel. It tells an amazing story: how a very small company, centered around the newspapers in Norfolk, Va., and Greensboro, N.C., took a gigantic risk. Competing with the largest communications companies, Landmark Communications started one of the first national cable channels. And almost failed (you can't come closer to failing than this one). And, in the end, succeeded gloriously.
Though the impossibly modest author almost paints himself off the stage altogether, you will also meet one of the most decent and admirable executives in American business, Frank Batten. Because Mr. Batten's company is private, almost no one knows of this remarkable man. Although he's reticent about himself (a life-threatening and life-altering cancer that occurred at the time of the Weather Channel launch is dismissed in a paragraph),you'll understand how lucky the citizens of Norfolk and Greensboro have been to have him in charge of their newspapers the last 40 years.
This is a book about business, not weather. But if business interests you at all, it's a hell of a book.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars interesting but......, December 29, 2002

By 

Chipcinnati (Cincinnati OH USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Weather Channel (Hardcover)

This book is a business story of how The Weather Channel became one of the leading media brands in the nation. It is not a "behind the scenes at TWC" tale, although a few pages in the "afterword" give readers a brief glimpse at how it all comes together on air.

The most fascinating parts of Batten's story are the tales of how TWC came to be in the very beginning, from the early company history, to the initial concepts and business plans of the late 1970s and early 1980s, to the 1981/1982 start-up, to the birthing pains caused in part by a messy corporate divorce with one of the founding partners. The book also provides an interesting glimpse into how the cable TV landscape was first settled by pioneers like HBO, ESPN, WTBS/CNN and, of course, TWC.

The latter half of the book deals with many of TWC's forays in the 1990s, including the highly-successful weather.com website, as well as several international ventures). But the final chapters lack excitement or drama.

The book has 264 pages, and it's not a hard read. I think the same story could have been told more effectively in about half the space, leaving out many of the details. The authors of this book focus almost exclusively on the TWC dealings and strategies at the corporate and operational levels. A better story could have been told by weaving in more perspectives from other TWC people, namely the on-camera meteorologists, some of whom have been with TWC since the very early days. Combine the best elements of this book (the first half of the story, in particular) with a real 20 years of "behind the scenes", and you'd have a compelling tale that would appeal to audiences beyond the book's target audience (TWC die-hards, business students, weather and media professionals).

Finally, the book provides 16 pages of full-color photos, but none appears to be older than 1998. Why didn't the authors add photos from the early days? Those of us who have been TWC fans for many years would have appreciated seeing some of the old faces, old graphics, and old technology that have made The Weather Channel the familiar and trusted friend it is today for millions of people.

Despite its flaws, I recommend the book for those who are interested in TWC specifically, or in the media or weather businesses in general.