I am a huge weather junky. Yes, I’m the guy that loves watching reporters get blown around as they cover the approaching hurricane, as well as understanding the science behind what caused that huge storm to develop. So being a DirectTV subscriber, you would think that their recent dropping of The Weather Channel would upset me. Well that just isn’t the case.

Just recently I was discussing with someone how bad our informational channels have become. I used to really enjoy watching things like The History Channel, Discovery, Animal Planet and all the other like channels in my lineup. But over the past few years those channels have migrated from their core mission into becoming nothing more than a reality channel. The Weather Channel is no exception, and DirectTV was hearing it from their customers. Here’s a statement from DirectTV:

“Consumers understand there are now a variety of other ways to get weather coverage, free of reality show clutter, and that The Weather Channel does not have an exclusive on weather coverage — the weather belongs to everyone,” DirecTV said in a statement. “Most consumers don’t want to watch a weather information channel with a forecast of a 40 percent chance of reality TV.”

I agree with the entire statement, but that last part I just love. 

But does that mean there is no weather coverage on DirectTV now? Not at all. In response to this, DirectTV has launched their own weather channel (channel 361), and guess what? It covers THE WEAHTER! It’s not full of commercials, documentaries or reality shows. It’s a channel you can go to and get in depth coverage of the weather right now.

Seeing a carrier go to these extremes to fight back against a provider is awesome. DirectTV is standing up for what their customers want, instead of letting the content providers force what they want onto the consumers. This is a perfect example of the free market in all its best and I couldn’t be happier.

And for those that love The Weather Channel, well the two parties are still in talks. My guess is that it will return, but it will now face some real, free-market competition. Perhaps that will force The Weather Channel into rethinking their programming.