WGN-TV and WeatherBug Partner to Offer Viewers Live, Neighborhood-Level Weather Reporting - On-air and Online Starting Tuesday

WGN-TV and WeatherBug Partner to Offer Viewers Live, Neighborhood-Level Weather Reporting - On-air and Online Starting Tuesday

Daily Newscasts to Feature Live WeatherBug Information from Local School Districts and Downtown Locations

CHICAGO and GERMANTOWN, Md., May 21 /PRNewswire/ -- WGN-TV announced today that the station will partner with WeatherBug(R), the leading provider of live, local weather information services to offer viewers live streaming weather information from area schools and downtown locations on WGN Morning News, WGN News at Noon, the 5:55pm Forecast and WGN News at Nine. WGN Chief Meteorologist Tom Skilling will launch WeatherBug tomorrow night on WGN News at Nine. Weather anchor Paul Konrad will debut the system on top-rated WGN Morning News on Wednesday, May 23.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070410/DCTU008-b )

Skilling and the WGN Weathercenter team will incorporate live weather data and video into their weather coverage from 150 WeatherBug Tracking Stations and cameras, located atop schools and public buildings throughout the Chicagoland area, from Naperville to Wrigleyville and Gurnee to Gary. Additionally, WGN-TV will tap into the national network of 8,000 WeatherBug Tracking Stations and 1,000 cameras for live weather conditions and severe weather coverage from around the nation.

Viewers will also be able to download the WeatherBug icon to their desktop at http://www.wgntv.com/ so that they can receive customized weather information and severe weather alerts.

"We're really excited about our new partnership with WeatherBug," commented Greg Caputo, WGN-TV news director. "By providing our viewers with live weather conditions, and allowing us to report on severe weather events in time for people to prepare is a unique offering only we can bring to our Chicago viewers; further distinguishing our news program on-air and on-line. Chief Meteorologist Tom Skilling, WGN Morning News weather anchor Paul Konrad and the rest of our weather team will be providing a real service, as well as working with the community of schools in the network to help them understand what is happening outside their windows."

"WeatherBug welcomes WGN-TV to our broadcast family," said Michael Rosen, SVP and GM of the WeatherBug Consumer Division. "We look forward to building a strong relationship with WGN, their weather experts and meteorological team, and the Chicago area viewers. Together our organizations are committed to making weather newscasts more reliable in order to help local families stay safe and plan their day with confidence."

WeatherBug maintains the largest weather network in the world. The live, local weather conditions are delivered to millions of consumers via the Internet and mobile devices, more than 100 state and local government agencies including the National Weather Service, and to schools, businesses and 80 broadcast television stations throughout the country.

About WGN

WGN-TV (Channel 9) is Chicago's CW network affiliate, programming a strong schedule of news, sports and entertainment. WGN's digital signals are available throughout the Chicago area on WGN-DT, with several hours of high-definition programming every week, including most CW programs and all Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox and Chicago Bulls home games on Channel 9.1 (Comcast Cable 192, RCN Cable 513, WOW Cable 206, and DIRECTV HD 9); and THE TUBE Music Network on Channel 9.2 (Comcast Cable 197). Via cable and satellite distribution outside the Chicago area, Superstation WGN is available in nearly 71 million homes. WGN-TV is a Tribune Broadcasting station. For additional information, visit WGN-TV's web site at http://www.wgntv.com/

About WeatherBug

WeatherBug (http://www.weatherbug.com/) ensures that individuals, schools, businesses and government agencies receive the most precise live weather information, the most relevant weather reports, and the earliest weather warnings to safeguard property, lives and to plan with confidence. With 8,000 WeatherBug Tracking Stations and over 1,000 cameras primarily based at neighborhood schools and public safety facilities across the U.S., WeatherBug maintains the largest exclusive weather network in the world. The live, local weather conditions are delivered to millions of consumers via the Internet and mobile devices, more than 100 state and local government agencies including the National Weather Service, and to broadcast television stations, schools, and businesses. WeatherBug data is unique as it is the only live, neighborhood weather available anywhere. WeatherBug is a brand of AWS Convergence Technologies, Inc. (http://www.aws.com/)

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Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070410/DCTU008-b
AP Archive:

http://photoarchive.ap.org/
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: WeatherBug

CONTACT: Diana Dionisio of WGN, +1-773-883-3412, ddionisio@tribune.com;
or Mara Radis of WeatherBug, +1-301-250-4017, mradis@weatherbug.com

Web site:

http://www.weatherbug.com/
http://www.aws.com/
http://www.wgntv.com/

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