The Weather Channel, which endured a bumpy 2015, has been named the 2016 news brand of the year in the new Harris Poll EquiTrend study, out today.
“We’re honored to be named the highest ranked TV News brand for the sixth year in a row,” said Dave Shull, chief executive of The Weather Channel television network. “The Weather Channel has been committed to providing unparalleled scientific expertise, highly localized storm coverage and the most accurate and comprehensive weather information for 33 years, and we’re thrilled that our viewers recognize that.”
The study ranks consumer brands on familiarity, quality and consideration. Other evaluated news networks were CNBC, CNN, Fox News Channel, MSNBC, and POP (formerly the TV Guide Network).
The Weather Channel, left behind after IBM acquired the company’s digital properties last October, has reformatted its programming to focus on weather–with a series of layoffs and cancellations announced last September.
Just last month, Weather Channel president Dave Clark irritated some network insiders, when Clark and Weather Channel chief operating officer Freddy Flaxman tweeted about the company’s new hyperlocal effort, Local Now, describing it as having no “cheesy anchors” or “hairspray, bad suits and dumb jokes.”