The Weather Channel believes DirecTV isn’t telling the truth about the number of customers who are remaining loyal to the company following its decision to drop the network.
According to DirecTV CEO Mike White, approximately 99 percent of the provider’s subscribers really don’t care about the company’s decision to dump the Weather Channel . In fact, White insists that viewership has dropped considerably over the past few years due to the increased number of reality programs on the network.
Since White believes the Weather Channel isn’t worth the asking price , he decided to drop the channel in favor of WeatherNation. The situation hasn’t settled well with the network, prompting executives to take out ads in The Washington Post and The New York Times .
In the advertisement, the Weather Channel claims DirecTV is lying about the percentage of customers who have pledged to remain loyal to the provider following the decision. In fact, the network said folks are very angry that they no longer have access to the channel.
The recent ad includes testimony from DirecTV customers who are seriously considering abandoning the service now that the Weather Channel is no longer available.
One disgruntled customer reportedly complained:
“I am a college instructor at a branch campus in rural Missouri. We get seriously dangerous weather here — tornadoes, ice storms, blizzards, electrical storms and floods. I have depended on The Weather Channel for years to decide if it is too dangerous to have classes because many of my students live way out in the country on dirt roads that become hazardous. I will drop DIRECTV.”
If you don’t believe the testimonies the Weather Channel has received from dissatisfied customers, then the network encourages everyone to look at some of the unhappy comments DirecTV recently received on its own Facebook page . There are definitely some unhappy people out there right now.
The Weather Nation on @DIRECTV is worthless. I can’t get local weather information & there’s a Winter Advisory in my area. @weatherchannel
— Nicole (@nikkynicole) January 28, 2014
Weather Nation is just awful. I sure wish they’d bring @weatherchannel back to @DIRECTV . My mornings aren’t the same.
— Kylie Bamberger (@kyliebam10) January 28, 2014
Enough! @directv playing with fire (weather) by acting like @weatherchannel isn’t a key channel. http://t.co/TIF1xh2gjr #stormdirectv
— Alex Kaufman (@Kaufmanwithak) January 26, 2014
The Weather Channel is also asking DirecTV to waive the cancellation fees for those customers who are incredibly upset about the situation. However, the provider has yet to respond to these demands at the moment.
“Since subscribers don’t get a say in lineup changes, then it’s only fair that we get the chance to switch companies without being held liable to pay termination fees,” one irate customer said in the recent advertisement.
Are you a DirecTV subscriber? What do you think about the provider dropping the Weather Channel from its lineup? Do you intend to cancel your service?
