Web and mobile sites also part of cross-platform deal as US network continues its expansion to the UK and Europe
With claims of a "tropical heatwave" heading for the UK, telecoms group Virgin Media has picked a good time to launch a new weather service for its customers.
The group has partnered with US network The Weather Channel for the service, which will provide UK weather forecasts through its TiVO set-top box, as well as on its website and mobile website.
The new TV app provides 24-hour and five-day forecasts for up to 10 stored locations. The web and mobile versions, meanwhile, will provide three-day forecasts while encouraging people to click through to The Weather Channel's own website for hourly and 10-day forecasts.
The Weather Channel sees the deal as its latest step into the UK and Europe, with plans to run an advertising campaign on Virgin Media's mobile site to drive more traffic to its own services.
"We are very excited to partner with Virgin Media and believe this landmark moment will drive accelerated growth for both companies in the UK," says president Patrick Vogt.
New digital platforms have been a key focus for growth at The Weather Channel in recent years. In January 2013, the network said its official mobile apps had been downloaded more than 100m times, and were attracting 38m monthly active users on smartphones and 6m on tablets.
On mobile devices, there is plenty of competition though. Earlier this month, the BBC launched its BBC Weather app for iPhone and Android smartphones, providing forecasts for up to five days ahead.
In April, Yahoo released a revamped Yahoo Weather iPhone app, which drew on its Flickr photo-sharing service to provide images of weather conditions around the world. Reported by guardian.co.uk 9 hours ago.
With claims of a "tropical heatwave" heading for the UK, telecoms group Virgin Media has picked a good time to launch a new weather service for its customers.
The group has partnered with US network The Weather Channel for the service, which will provide UK weather forecasts through its TiVO set-top box, as well as on its website and mobile website.
The new TV app provides 24-hour and five-day forecasts for up to 10 stored locations. The web and mobile versions, meanwhile, will provide three-day forecasts while encouraging people to click through to The Weather Channel's own website for hourly and 10-day forecasts.
The Weather Channel sees the deal as its latest step into the UK and Europe, with plans to run an advertising campaign on Virgin Media's mobile site to drive more traffic to its own services.
"We are very excited to partner with Virgin Media and believe this landmark moment will drive accelerated growth for both companies in the UK," says president Patrick Vogt.
New digital platforms have been a key focus for growth at The Weather Channel in recent years. In January 2013, the network said its official mobile apps had been downloaded more than 100m times, and were attracting 38m monthly active users on smartphones and 6m on tablets.
On mobile devices, there is plenty of competition though. Earlier this month, the BBC launched its BBC Weather app for iPhone and Android smartphones, providing forecasts for up to five days ahead.
In April, Yahoo released a revamped Yahoo Weather iPhone app, which drew on its Flickr photo-sharing service to provide images of weather conditions around the world. Reported by guardian.co.uk 9 hours ago.