WeatherBug sees sunny skies on VZW deck

VERIZON WIRELESS IS SIMPLIFYING its weather offerings by dumping several content providers off its deck in favor of WeatherBug.
The nation’s second-largest carrier said WeatherBug will be the only source for weather information from its wireless home page, marketed as Mobile Web 2.0. The move ends on-deck relationships with several high-profile providers including AccuWeather.com and The Weather Channel’s weather.com.
WeatherBug, a 15-year-old outfit based in Germantown, Md., already powers much of Verizon Wireless’ on-deck options including local weather, radar maps, satellite images and seven-day forecasts. The company will also deliver weather information via text messages and Vcast Video under terms of the deal.
“The ability to get weather updates, potentially life-saving weather alerts and information while on the go is important to our wireless customers,” said Ryan Hughes, Verizon Wireless’ VP of digital media programming.
The decision comes on the heels of Verizon Wireless’ move last month to overhaul its mobile home page to make it more userfriendly. The operator installed drop-down bars and shortcuts to content and added a clickable banner touting a rotation of services. “We’re very disappointed with the outcome in some ways, because we’re always trying to make our content easier to access,” said Louis Gump, vice president of mobile at The Weather Channel Interactive. “But we don’t disagree with Verizon’s overall approach of making it easier to get the content.”
News of rain and snow has become a hot commodity on the mobile Web, according to recent figures from M:Metrics. Weather is the favorite type of news and information among female wireless users in the United States, with 3.5% of women accessing the stuff, and the third-ranking genre among men.
The move will occur “by the end of the month,” according to a representative from WeatherBug. Verizon Wireless will continue to offer premium weather applications through several providers including The Weather Channel, AccuWeather and Weathernews Inc.