The Weather Channel Companies Appoints David Kenny Chairman and CEO

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Weather Channel Companies (TWCC) today announced that David Kenny, an experienced executive with a strong record in the media and digital industries, has been selected to be Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

“I was attracted to The Weather Channel because weather is fascinating”

In this role, Kenny will work closely with the management team and the Board of Directors to leverage the company's unique collection of media assets and spearhead the further development of a comprehensive, integrated strategy to accelerate its growth in the United States and internationally.

“I was attracted to The Weather Channel because weather is fascinating,” said Kenny. “Accurate, timely forecasting is an everyday necessity for people and businesses everywhere. The Weather Channel has ubiquitous reach across our TV, digital and mobile platforms, and that’s what makes us so unique. Our programming and content continues to evolve in many interesting ways, and that means we’re in a great position to work closely with our affiliates, advertisers, and partners. I am excited to join a team of talented meteorologists, management leaders and dedicated employees as we collaborate to grow and expand across our various platforms globally.”

The consortium that owns The Weather Channel Companies, Bain Capital, The Blackstone Group, and NBC Universal, released the following statement: “David brings a strong leadership background having served as chief executive at global companies across different aspects of the media industry. This experience gives him a deep understanding of the TV and digital business, and he has the leadership experience and vision to drive global initiatives across all platforms. The Weather Channel Companies business is strong and on the right track, and with David leading a strong team, we are well positioned to seize the many good opportunities that lie ahead.”

Kenny succeeds Mike Kelly, who joined the company as President and CEO in 2009. Kelly will serve as a special adviser to the CEO and the Board of Directors of TWCC. He will also serve as an adviser to Bain Capital.

TWCC ownership continued: “We are grateful to Mike Kelly for the significant contributions he has made to the progress of the business over the last two years, including record revenue and profitability, building the executive team, helping revitalize the company's focus on original TV programming and establishing the company as a mobile leader.”

The Weather Channel properties are the most popular source of weather news and information, reaching 163 million people – and 110 million of those people access content through multiple platforms. The Weather Channel provides weather information online to 62 million unique users each month and 11 million per day. It also reaches 33 million monthly unique users through its mobile platform and 94 million monthly cable viewers.

Kenny comes to TWCC after serving as president of Akamai, the leading cloud platform designed to help enterprises provide secure, high-performing user experiences to mobile and fixed internet users. Previously, he co-founded and served as managing partner of VivaKi, the combined worldwide media and digital arm of Publicis Groupe, and he was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Digitas Inc., a top global integrated brand agency. Kenny currently serves as member of the Board of Directors of Yahoo Inc., and a director of Teach for America, a nonprofit that enlists recent graduates to teach and to effect change in under-resourced and low-income communities.

About The Weather Channel Companies

The Weather Channel Companies (TWCC) are made up of The Weather Channel® television network, The Weather Channel digital properties, and WSI. The Weather Channel is based in Atlanta and is seen in more than 100 million U.S. households. TWCC also operates Weatherscan®, a 24-hour all-local weather network; The Weather Channel Radio Network; and The Weather Channel HD. The most popular source of weather news and information, TWCC properties reach 62 million monthly Web consumers (weather.com and Desktop) and 33 million monthly mobile users (mobile Web and applications) and offers the second most popular mobile app on all smartphones. WSI, headquartered in Andover, MA, primarily provides business-to-business weather services, particularly for the media, aviation, marine and energy sectors. The Weather Channel Companies are owned by a consortium made up of NBC Universal and the private equity firms The Blackstone Group and Bain Capital. For more information, visit www.weather.com/press.

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=50143446&lang=en