TWC sells its 49 per cent stake in Pelmorex Media Inc.
Tuesday, December 22, 2015, 9:58 AM -
Pelmorex founder now controls 100 per cent of international weather company
Oakville, Ontario, December 22, 2015 - Pelmorex Management Inc., the holding company of Pelmorex founder, Pierre Morrissette, announced today the purchase of the 49 per cent stake in Pelmorex Media Inc. (PMI) which had been owned by The Weather Channel LLC since 1996.
PMI, now wholly-owned by Pelmorex Management Inc., is a multi-platform weather information company focused on the consumer market in North America and Europe. Its popular brands include The Weather Network, MétéoMédia and eltiempo.es.
The Weather Channel LLC (TWC) is the TV arm of The Weather Company owned by Bain Capital, Blackstone Capital Partners and NBC Universal. The Weather Company recently announced the sale of its digital and commercial services divisions to IBM with a closing expected in early 2016. The PMI stake had been a passive and non-core investment for TWC whereas PMI’s founder had been seeking to consolidate ownership for at least 10 years.
PMI has been the dominant weather player in Canada since 1988 when it launched its very popular all-weather TV networks. The Weather Network and MétéoMédia TV networks have been carried on basic cable and satellite services since inception. They have been one of Canada’s most widely distributed TV networks and have consistently ranked among services offering the highest level of subscriber satisfaction. In 1996, the company launched its web sites in the early days of the Internet and these have evolved to be among Canada’s most popular sites. In 2000, PMI was an early adopter again in the mobile category by launching mobile web and app services which have also grown to be market leading properties.
“Our philosophy is simple,” said Pierre Morrissette, PMI’s Founder and CEO, “we put consumers first and strive to meet their needs better than anyone else.” This philosophy has made Pelmorex a highly innovative company enabled by technology mostly created in-house by a top team of developers. “We believe in controlling our own destiny,” continued Morrissette, who added “we also have a large team of meteorologists who are on the cutting edge of science, using sophisticated weather data and computer models to produce market leading forecasts for the world.”
The company’s focus also includes the U.S., one of the top weather markets, where it offers its multi-platform services under The Weather Network brand. In addition to its web and app services, PMI is a leader in the emerging category of Internet TV Weather Apps where it recently launched interactive apps for both Android TV and Apple TV devices. These apps were first to market in the U.S. with a live stream TV channel complementing its interactive TV app, thereby providing consumers with a blended, leading edge experience.
With a highly scalable infrastructure in place, the company expanded outside of North America in 2012 by acquiring Eltiempo Previsto SLU, Spain’s leading weather service. Since that time, the number of users have tripled for both web and app services operating under the eltiempo.es brand. “We are excited with the continued potential of this investment since Spanish is the third largest language in the world” explained Morrissette.
The company’s multi-platform digital services are now available internationally and in many languages. Providing consumers with a personalized and localized experience while keeping them safe is PMI’s focus. “At the end of the day it’s all about providing consumers with their personalized weather when it really matters” said Morrissette.
For further information or to arrange an interview, please contact:
Sara Stratton
High Road
sara.stratton@highroad.com
416-644-2258
About Pelmorex Media Inc.
Celebrating 27 years, Pelmorex Media Inc. is the parent company of The Weather Network, MétéoMédia, Eltiempo.es and Wetterplus.de. Pelmorex operates in Canada, the U.S., Spain and Germany. The Weather Network and its French counterpart MétéoMédia are Canada's most popular weather and information services on TV, web and smartphone apps. Eltiempo is Spain's leading multi-platform weather information provider. Pelmorex also built and operates Canada’s National Alerting System (Alert Ready) which aggregates and distributes emergency alerts issued by authorized government agencies.
