Advertisers Confirm Preference for Media Solutions Provided by The Weather Channel(R) and weather.com(R)

Advertisers Confirm Preference for Media Solutions Provided by The Weather Channel(R) and weather.com(R)

The Weather Channel Interactive (weather.com(R)) ranked top online sales force; The Weather Channel network named #3 ahead of all broadcast nets

ATLANTA, Feb. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the January 2005 release of Jack Myers' 2004 Survey of Advertising Executives on TV Network and Online Sales Organizations, The Weather Channel Companies' TWC Media Solutions Group is an industry leader when it comes to overall sales organization performance. The TWC Media Solutions Group is the innovative sales force for The Weather Channel Interactive (weather.com) and The Weather Channel cable network. According to the report, weather.com ranked #1 in performance (up from #4 in 2003) and The Weather Channel network ranked #3 (climbing from #13 in 2003).

"It's gratifying that our customers recognize the value of the solutions we provide for their advertising problems. Over the past year, we focused on ensuring that our clients were presented with the most effective advertising solutions available," said Paul Iaffaldano, executive vice president and general manager, TWC Media Solutions Group. "We were committed to providing innovative solutions in an effective advertising environment. The result was a persuasive message that really resonated with consumers, making our clients very, very happy."

The consistency in which advertisers relate to The Weather Channel as an advertising medium across both platforms is unprecedented. As reported by Myers, there is no other media company that has two sales forces in the top 10, let alone the top three.

The Weather Channel Interactive's rise to become the number one online sales organization (ahead of Yahoo!, Forbes.com, ESPN.com, The New York Times Digital, Wall Street Journal Online and CBS Sportsline) can be directly linked to its commitment to both its users and advertising clients to develop products and services that are innovative, incredibly relevant and of the highest quality possible. In 2004, the company's Web site, weather.com, was named the most trusted source of online weather information by respondents of a study conducted by Nielsen Media Research. This trust, which is also clearly felt by the site's advertising clients, has allowed the company to present new and innovative ideas in a way that is very well received.

Last year, The Weather Channel Interactive (TWCi) hosted its first ever Preview. The eight-city road show educated media buyers and planners about the need to buy the most attractive advertising positions on weather.com in advance. The Preview highlighted the site's relevant content with which advertisers want their messages to be associated in order to be the most effective and reminded clients that this space is in high demand. In another step designed to help advertisers make the most of their dollars, TWCi this year developed a separate sales force dedicated to Desktop Weather by The Weather Channel -- its popular desktop application. These new initiatives, combined with the site's cutting-edge targeting capabilities, in-house creative services team (which can be credited with developing the site's new Smart Ad product) and routinely conducted branding studies demonstrating a campaign's effectiveness, make the site very attractive to advertisers wishing to reach a large audience, a very segmented group of consumers or both.

The Weather Channel network continues to pick up steam, as advertisers have come to recognize the influence and strong relationship the network has with its millions of loyal viewers. As such, The Weather Channel makes every effort to protect this relationship, while remaining committed to providing advertisers with ground-breaking ad solutions that only strengthen a client's message. The launch of contextual copy-splitting, which utilizes a new technology unprecedented in the cable television industry, allows ads to be delivered to the most relevant audience through copy-split by either state, DMA, time of day/time zone or weather condition (rain, temperature, forecast, etc.). Additionally, The Weather Channel created a dedicated cooperative advertising division in an effort to better service the needs of its clients in local markets.

"We're delighted that we are meeting the needs of our clients," added Iaffaldano. "With the new and improved advertising products launched by The Weather Channel in recent months, I anticipate our scores to continue to rise."

The reports' performance power ratings were based on the following attributes: sales representative accessibility and responsiveness, sales representative knowledge of product and programming, quality and value of presentations and support materials and overall stewardship of schedule, sales creativity and marketing support.

For additional information on The Weather Channel Media Solutions Group or to schedule an interview, please contact Kristin Thomas at 405-706-5642, thomaspr@sbcglobal.net or Angela Fisher at 404-819-4917, afisher@weather.com .

About The Weather Channel(R)

The Weather Channel, a 24-hour weather network, is seen in over 87 million U.S. households. Its Web site, weather.com, attracts 25 million unique users per month and is consistently ranked among the Top 15 of all Web sites by Nielsen//NetRatings. The Weather Channel also operates Weatherscan, a 24-hour, all-local weather network distributed to almost 8 million households, The Weather Channel Radio Network, The Weather Channel Newspaper Services and is the leading weather information provider for emerging technologies. This includes broadband and interactive television applications, with wireless weather products accessible through high-speed Internet services, phones, pagers, Palm Pilots, and other personal digital assistants. The Weather Channel is owned by Landmark Communications, Inc., a Norfolk, VA-based, privately held media company.

About The Weather Channel Interactive

weather.com, a product of The Weather Channel Interactive and the Web site of The Weather Channel(R), is the ultimate source of weather on the Web. The site helps users plan their lives by delivering timely current conditions, expert forecasts and relevant lifestyle content for 98,000 locations worldwide. weather.com reaches more than 25 million unique users each month and is the most popular source of online weather, news and information. Its content is currently ranked the 10th most popular according to Nielsen//NetRatings. The Weather Channel Interactive is the leading provider of broadband and wireless weather products and also provides consumers with unique and customizable products such as Desktop Weather by The Weather Channel and Notify! by The Weather Channel, a personalized weather alert service. The company's partnerships include America Online, Yahoo!, Excite Networks, MSNBC.com, USAToday.com, AT&T WorldNet, ABCNews.com, Digital City, Road Runner, Verizon Wireless, Cingular, AT&T Wireless, Sprint, T-Mobile and Nextel.


Source: The Weather Channel

CONTACT: Kristin Thomas, +1-405-706-5642, or thomaspr@sbcglobal.net , or
Angela Fisher, +1-404-819-4917, or afisher@weather.com , both for The Weather
Channel

Web site: http://www.weather.com/


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