NBC reportedly buys Weather Channel for $3.5 billion

Sure, you know the Weather Channel. Maybe you turn it on for a few minutes each morning as you wake up and decide whether to wear your raincoat or your dinosaur onesie that day. But do you really know the Weather Channel? Could you recite its primetime programming? Do you know what comes on before the show that prepares you for natural disasters and the show that highlights the most outrageous natural disasters? We didn’t think so.

Just what might entice you to familiarize yourself with the channel's programming a little more? Maybe some celebrity cameos? Who better to warn you about tropical weather than Tracy Morgan’s Sharkman? Personally, we could not imagine a better musical backing for the next disaster special than The Office’s Scrantonicity covering the Scorpion’s “Rock You Like A Hurricane.” Or maybe the weather mysteries of the Bermuda Triangle could turn into a special Law and Order investigation conducted by Ice-T. Well, what if we told you these things were all possible now, you know, in theory?

NBC Universal announced Sunday that it has reached a deal to buy the Weather Channel from Landmark Communications, Inc. No financial terms of the agreement were disclosed, but an anonymous source told the New York Times the price was $3.5 billion. NBC outlasted several other corporations (such as Time Warner, CBS and Comcast) in the bidding after the Virginia-based Landmark put TWC and its other businesses up for sale in January.

Aside from the television channel, NBC will also attain TWC's website (Weather.com) whose company claims its visitor numbers place it in the top 15 in the world.

Related links:
NBC.com
Weather.com
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