| The Weather Company LLC | |
| Type: | Private |
| Industry: | Information technology Weather forecasting |
| Founded: | |
| Hq Location: | 1001 Summit Blvd NE, Brookhaven |
| Hq Location City: | Atlanta, Georgia |
| Hq Location Country: | U.S.[1] |
| Subsid: | Weather Underground WSI Corporation |
| Owner: | Francisco Partners (2024–present) |
| Parent: | Landmark Communications (1980–2008) NBCUniversal, Bain Capital, The Blackstone Group (2008–2016) |
The Weather Company LLC is a weather forecasting and information technology company that owns and operates weather.com (the website for The Weather Channel), and Weather Underground. From 2016 to 2023, The Weather Company was a subsidiary of the Watson & Cloud Platform business unit of IBM.[2] In February 2024, Francisco Partners completed the acquisition of The Weather Company, which operates as a standalone company.[3]
The Weather Company started as the Weather Channel in 1980, and launched two years later. In 2012, the company created a broader holding company and replaced the word "Channel" with "Company" to better reflect their growing lineup of digital products.[4]
The Weather Company was previously owned by a consortium made up of the Blackstone Group, Bain Capital, and NBCUniversal. That consortium sold the Weather Company's product and technology assets to IBM on January 29, 2016, but retained possession of The Weather Channel cable network until March 2018, when it was sold to Entertainment Studios. As part of the 2016 spin-off, the consortium entered into a long-term licensing agreement with IBM for use of its weather data and "The Weather Channel" name and branding.[5] [6] [7] In August 2023, IBM agreed to sell The Weather Company to private equity firm Francisco Partners for an undisclosed sum.[8]
In February 2024, Francisco Partners completed the acquisition of The Weather Company, which operates as a standalone company.[3]