The Weather Channel launches CTV app
The Weather Channel (TWC) recently released an app for CTV. The service requires a $2.99 per month subscription fee and gives users access to TWC's live stream and on-demand library. This includes original programming and interactive features such as local forecasts, radar and real-time maps. For now, it is only offered on Amazon Fire TV and Android TV, but it will be available on Roku, Samsung Smart TV, Vizio and Xfinity Flex soon.
According to iSpot, TWC spent around $5.5k on national TV ads YTD, a significant decrease from $94.5k spent in this channel during the same time period of 2021. Full-year spend jumped from $94.8k in 2020 to $772.8k in 2021. This year, it placed ads during programming such as Funny You Should Ask, Justice With Judge Mablean and Ultimate Karting Championship.
Per Pathmatics, TWC earned 21.7m impressions YTD through desktop display ads (77%), Instagram ads (12%), mobile display ads (6%), Facebook ads (4%) and Twitter ads (2%). It placed the majority (99%) of these ads directly onto sites such as freep.com, usatoday.com, instagram.com, detroitnews.com and indystar.com. It placed the remainder (1%) through multiple indirect channels onto sites such as realtor.com, usatoday.com, ebay.com, webmd.com and medicinenet.com. It spent around $294.4k on digital display ads YTD, a huge jump from $33.5k spent in this channel during the same time period of 2021. Full-year spend skyrocketed from $152.6k in 2020 to $1.5m in 2021.
Sellers-- TWC mainly targets Gen-X and millennial men. It allocates the majority of its marketing resources toward digital display ads, and it has been aggressively increasing spend in that channel since the beginning of 2021. The company does utilize national TV ads, just much more sparingly than digital ads. It also invests in local broadcast TV ads, per Kantar. TWC will likely increase spend or even launch a campaign to promote the new streaming app. Sellers should reach out to offer ad space.
Agency & martech readers-- I believe TWC works with creative AOR BBH, creative team BBDO ATL and digital shop MaxMedia, with an in-house media team. Get in touch to see if TWC needs any help promoting the new streaming app. You may be able to offer your services.
