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This week, Weather Underground, a unique website with a cult following was acquired by The Weather Channel for an undisclosed sum of money. As a strong competitor to The Weather Channel, the website has a devoted readership, with approximately 10 million unique visitors per month. Fans of Weather Underground have expressed outrage and disappointment in the acquisition calling it a “sell-out” to larger commercial corporate interests.

Questions:
1. What do you think is the business strategy associated with the acquisition? How do you think that The Weather Channel should go about trying to melt its current fans/interests with its acquired interests? What plans has The Weather Channel already announced regarding the acquisition?
2. What type of media offers future expansion opportunities to The Weather Channel?
3. Who is the new CEO of the Weather Channel? Who is the consortium that owns The Weather Channel?
4. Research the beginnings of the Weather Underground. Who are their typical followers?

Sources:
Stelter, B. (2012). Weather Channel Acquiring Weather Underground. The New York Times, July 2 (Retrievable online at http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/02/weather-channel-acquiring-weather-underground/)

NYT Video (2012). Business Day Live, The New York Times, July 3 (Retrievable online at http://video.nytimes.com/video/2012/07/03/business/100000001643644/business-day-live-july-3-2012.html)