Looking back at Dennis one more time…
I am beginning to realize that we broke lots of new ground in relaying weather information to the masses. We had not one, but two meteorologists “blogging” from the Alabama Gulf coast with laptops and wireless Internet access.
My associates Brian Peters and Bill Murray posted to this blog before, during, and after the arrival of Hurricane Dennis. And, the blog reached more people than some TV stations during the event! The number of people reading the ABC 33/40 weather blog here peaked at 71,342 last Friday, followed by 67,394 Saturday and 55,333 on Sunday. Just a year or so ago most people around here never heard of a blog (short for web log). Astounding.
Then, our television coverage this past Saturday night was split apart from our main ABC 33/40 signal for the first time ever. We went with a three and a half hour special on our digital signals 33.2 and 40.2. With the new digital transmission we have, we have one high definition signal and three standard definition signals that means you will never have to miss your favorite program again next time we have to go into severe weather coverage. Of course, a relatively small percentage of people have digital TV sets now, but everyone will have one within a few years as the old analog signals will go away. Charter cable systems across north and central Alabama picked up our digital signal and put it on Channel 99, so cable viewers in Birmingham and across the state could watch, even with no digital TV. There were some initial technical problems with the Charter feed, but it was cleared up by 8:00.
The response was overwhelmingly positive, and the only thing missing was live streaming on the Internet. And, don’t worry, we hope to have that in place for the next tropical system or tornado warning.
The times, they are a changin’…..
I am beginning to realize that we broke lots of new ground in relaying weather information to the masses. We had not one, but two meteorologists “blogging” from the Alabama Gulf coast with laptops and wireless Internet access.
My associates Brian Peters and Bill Murray posted to this blog before, during, and after the arrival of Hurricane Dennis. And, the blog reached more people than some TV stations during the event! The number of people reading the ABC 33/40 weather blog here peaked at 71,342 last Friday, followed by 67,394 Saturday and 55,333 on Sunday. Just a year or so ago most people around here never heard of a blog (short for web log). Astounding.
Then, our television coverage this past Saturday night was split apart from our main ABC 33/40 signal for the first time ever. We went with a three and a half hour special on our digital signals 33.2 and 40.2. With the new digital transmission we have, we have one high definition signal and three standard definition signals that means you will never have to miss your favorite program again next time we have to go into severe weather coverage. Of course, a relatively small percentage of people have digital TV sets now, but everyone will have one within a few years as the old analog signals will go away. Charter cable systems across north and central Alabama picked up our digital signal and put it on Channel 99, so cable viewers in Birmingham and across the state could watch, even with no digital TV. There were some initial technical problems with the Charter feed, but it was cleared up by 8:00.
The response was overwhelmingly positive, and the only thing missing was live streaming on the Internet. And, don’t worry, we hope to have that in place for the next tropical system or tornado warning.
The times, they are a changin’…..
on July 12, 2005, 9:03 pm
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