NBCU Aligns with Bain, Blackstone for Weather Channel

NEW YORK, July 7: NBC Universal has teamed with the
private-equity firms Bain Capital and The Blackstone Group to acquire The
Weather Channel from Landmark Communications for an undisclosed sum.

The Weather Channel will be operated as a separate entity,
based in Atlanta, with management services to be provided by NBC Universal. The
deal includes The Weather Channel Networks, seen in more than 97 percent of
cable television homes in the U.S.; The Weather Channel Interactive, which
includes weather.com—a site that records some 40 million unique visitors
per month—and a mobile business; and Weather Services International, a
forecasting service that has more than 5,500 clients worldwide.

Announcing the deal yesterday, Jeff
Zucker, the president and CEO of NBC Universal, said: "This will
further position NBC Universal as the leading provider of news, information and
weather, both online and on television. Joining with The Weather Channel
properties plays to our strengths in developing and programming cable networks,
and in producing and distributing high-quality content across multiple
platforms."

Landmark’s chairman and CEO, Frank Batten, Jr., commented:
"When Landmark launched The Weather Channel more than 25 years ago, we
could never have imagined that it would become the multiplatform leader which
120 million people use monthly. While we are extremely proud of how far we've
come, I know that as part of the NBC Universal consortium, The Weather Channel
and its employees will have increased opportunities for growth."

—By Mansha Daswani