Broadcasters and Streaming Platforms Can Now Tell More Impactful, On-Demand Weather Stories at Scale with ReelSphere,tm a New AI-driven Innovation from The Weather Company

Combine the Trust of a Local Meteorologist with Advanced Technology to Improve Reach, Engagement and Monetization on CTV and OTT without Added Staff or Resources

ATLANTA, April 11, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Weather is the main reason viewers tune in to their local news broadcast. In today's media landscape, weather content also drives eyeballs ? and dollars ? across digital and streaming platforms. Content creators today face an enormous challenge to stay relevant and engage viewers, who turn to multiple sources for weather information because no single source is effectively delivering all of what they want. Viewers expect accuracy, reliability and relevance with lightning speed, or they'll quickly move on to the next source.

Recognizing this challenge, The Weather Company today unveils ReelSphere, its newest innovation for the broadcast industry and streaming platforms. For decades, The Weather Company has embraced AI and married it with expert human insight to improve weather forecasts and products. ReelSphere, backed by advanced AI technology, delivers an easy way to help content creators reach and monetize audiences with compelling, customized and impactful weather content 24/7 across connected television (CTV), over the top (OTT), mobile and other digital platforms without additional staff or resources.

"By making weather videos even more timely, local and scalable, The Weather Company is helping improve how millions of consumers experience vital weather content each day," said Andrew Finlayson, executive vice president of digital and AI strategies at SmithGeiger Group. "They continue to marry their weather expertise with the latest in technology innovation to solve consumer problems, helping weather storytellers of all types 'super serve' their consumers. Weather content is increased across all screens, including mobile, web and smart TVs, while improving workflows and controlling costs."

According to a study by SmithGeiger, while overall satisfaction with weather forecasts is high, only 22% of respondents are completely satisfied with the forecasts and reports they receive, citing a need for increased accuracy, reliability and relevance. Connected TV offers huge potential for weather content. Over 80 percent of U.S. adults 18-64 would consume ReelSphere content at least once a week, and 65% trust an AI voiceover from their favorite meteorologist.¹

"Weather has never been more impactful for audiences or more critical for broadcasters and streaming providers, and we are committed to helping our clients become a one-stop-shop of weather information for their viewers," said Joe Fiveash, head of enterprise media and new verticals at The Weather Company. "Our products use AI and cloud technology to solve urgent challenges like resource shortages and audience growth by leveraging remote workflows and resources across an enterprise to create scalable content for multiple platforms such as CTV, which audiences demand."

How the tech works to create unique on-air weather stories

An effective combination of human and machine, ReelSphere increases flexibility by leveraging AI responsibly to deliver relevant content ? a curated video "reel" created by local meteorologists ? that can be tweaked as needed. Content generates automatically with location-specific graphics that appear and change based on the time of day, day of the week, and forecasted weather.

For example, forecasted precipitation levels will show up when rain is expected, or lifestyle content such as a beach forecast will be added before the weekend. AI technology provides captioning and an audio overlay for each video, using either a generic voice or that of trusted local on-air talent. For added expertise and context, meteorologists can further edit and enhance videos by integrating any of the rich graphical content they've already created within Max, a leading weather visualization tool from The Weather Company.

ReelSphere leverages the power of artificial intelligence in an easy-to-use tool that helps content creators offer a dynamic, on-demand, valuable weather viewing experience that:

• Expands storytelling to streaming audiences: Create smart, snackable forecasts, weather alerts and lifestyle weather videos on demand and at scale.
• Increases audience engagement: ReelSphere's hyper-fast video creation engine quickly generates and serves adaptive, highly customized curated CTV content that audiences crave.
• Shares critical severe weather news: Real-time weather reports customized by location are delivered with the understanding and trust of a local meteorologist.
• Improves content production efficiency: Meet the increasing demand for personalized weather videos across CTV and OTT without additional resources.
• Monetizes OTT content with relevance: Integrate sponsor content for advertisers who have expressed interest in this content, driving additional revenue. Stations can also use their first-party data to better target and deliver videos.

Research shows that audiences first expect accuracy, reliability and relevance from weather presentations. As the world's most accurate weather forecaster,² The Weather Company combines 100 forecast models, including its own GRAF system, and then uses a proprietary mix of AI and human expertise to create the freshest, best possible forecast for any time and location requested, on demand. No other provider comes close to the personalized weather forecast and insights The Weather Company solutions deliver.

A market leader in broadcast weather solutions, The Weather Company will be showcasing ReelSphere at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) show in Las Vegas at South Hall Lower booth #SL3053. See a demo video of ReelSphere in action, and for more, visit weathercompany.com/media.

About The Weather Company

The Weather Company helps people and businesses around the world make more informed decisions and take action in the face of weather. With its deep industry expertise and highly accurate, high-volume weather data combined with advanced technology and AI, The Weather Company provides insights and solutions that harness the power of weather in a scalable, privacy-forward way. The world's most accurate forecaster, the company serves hundreds of enterprise customers across media, advertising, aviation and more, and is trusted by hundreds of millions of monthly active users via digital properties from The Weather Channel (weather.com) and Weather Underground (wunderground.com). For more, visit weathercompany.com.  

¹ "The Future of Weather Forecasting" conducted January 2024 across 18-64 U.S. adults, by SmithGeiger, commissioned by The Weather Company.

²  ForecastWatch, Global and Regional Weather Forecast Accuracy Overview, 2017-2022, https://forecastwatch.com/AccuracyOverview2017-2022, commissioned by The Weather Company.

SOURCE The Weather Company