Weather Channel Cancels Al Roker’s ‘Wake Up With Al’

By Mark Joyella 

The Weather Channel has decided to cancel its early morning show, Wake Up With Al, after six years. Al Roker‘s show will have its last airing later this month, according to several sources familiar with the network’s plans. The show’s New York-based production team was told of the decision Monday.

“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 in a statement. “I look forward to continuing to partner with the Channel on-air and through my production company on future traditional and digital projects.”

Wake Up With Al launched in 2009, with the show’s co-host Stephanie Abrams and production team moving to New York in 2012. A year later, Roker overslept the show–missing an early morning assignment for the first time in 39 years.

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Wake Up With Al has occasionally been a bright spot ratings-wise in The Weather Channel’s lineup, but the move to New York–the show is the only one produced outside of Weather Channel’s base in Atlanta–resulted in expensive production costs. It’s believed TWC is seeking a new way to use Roker, who is well liked at the network.

Earlier Tuesday, one of the network’s longest-running meteorologists, Vivian Brown, announced she was leaving, an announcement she described on air as a “great disappointment,” saying she was not sure where she would go next.

The Weather Channel’s owners have begun the process of shopping the network–or perhaps only its digital properties–for sale, amid declining financial prospects.

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