Sam Champion is leaving the Weather Channel after a three-year stint at the Atlanta-based network, TVNewser has learned. The final episode of his weekly night time series 23.5 Degrees, which premiered in March of this year, airs tonight at 11 p.m. We reported in October that Champion’s contract with the network was up soon, so news of his departure isn’t necessarily a huge surprise.
“Sam Champion has decided to leave The Weather Channel at the end of this year to pursue new challenges,” the network says in a statement. “We are grateful for his contributions and leadership in his time at the network, as Managing Editor, and both anchor and creator of AMHQ and the pioneering 23.5 Degrees. Sam was influential steering our business during a period a rapid change, and The Weather Channel is stronger today for it. We wish Sam all the best in his new endeavors and will always consider him part of The Weather Channel family.”
Champion spent 25 years at ABC, seven of which as a member of the Good Morning America team. He left in late 2013 to become the managing editor of the Weather Channel. His morning show AMHQ debuted in March 2014, to lackluster ratings. A few months later, the show began cutting production roles, and Champion was finally moved off of the morning show in fall 2015 before the premiere of 23.5 Degrees the following March.
Champion appeared on all three broadcast network morning newscasts during his time at TWC, and filled in on HLN’s Morning Express with Robin Meade as recently as last month.