Viewers flock to Weather Channel for Hurricane Ian coverage
The Weather Channel had its biggest audience in five years on Wednesday, when Hurricane Ian made its devastating landfall in western Florida
NEW YORK (AP) — The Weather Channel reached its biggest audience in five years last week when Hurricane Ian made its destructive landfall in western Florida.
The average audience of 3.4 million people last Wednesday was more than any other day for the network since Hurricane Harvey deluged Texas with record amounts of rainfall in 2017, the Nielsen company said.
The network's peak day came despite other cable news and broadcast networks also devoting resources to the storm, and a myriad of streaming options that gave people many different ways to follow Ian and its aftermath.
For example, the free streaming service Local News Now, which is owned alongside The Weather Channel by the Allen Media Group, had a record-setting day for usage last Wednesday, the company said. Through the service, people could watch local news coverage of Ian from markets in Tampa, Fort Myers and Orlando in Florida.
