ST. PAUL, Minnesota - Yes, you really did see Weather Channel on-camera talent on NBC over the weekend.
It's still a little while before NBC Universal acquires The Weather Channel, but Weather Channel meteorologists have already begun appearing on "NBC Nightly News" and MSNBC in advance of Hurricane Gustav's expected landfall somewhere on the Gulf Coast sometime Monday.
NBC Uni reached a preliminary agreement with the Atlanta-based channel, allowing its on-scene meteorologists to appear on "NBC Nightly News" and "Today" as well as on the 24/7 cable news channel.
The $3.5 billion acquisition of The Weather Channel from Landmark Communications will close soon. But thanks to Gustav, NBC and The Weather Channel started working together even earlier than expected.
In an interview Sunday afternoon, NBC News President Steve Capus said that the network had set u a process to clear The Weather Channel personnel onto the air on NBC's networks. They've been invaluable in covering the runup to Hurricane Gustav, Capus said.
"This is why we wanted to have The Weather Channel in our family," Capus told The Hollywood Reporter.
