One of the coldest Toronto winters on record marks the start of The Weather Network’s new information-based morning program scheduled to begin Feb. 7.
Called The Morning Report, the show will run from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. weekday mornings and be available in more than two million households in the greater Toronto area.
‘Survival information’
Pierre Morrissette, president of Pelmorex Communications, owner of The Weather Network, says the company calls its Morning Report broadcasts ‘survival information.’
Morrissette says Morning Report guarantees that within 15 minutes viewers will get the information they need about weather and traffic to start their day.
Announcers
The show, broadcast from Pelmorex Communications studios in Mississauga, Ont., is hosted by Joan Kelley, with contributions from other on-air announcers.
It provides local and regional weather forecasts and travel and commuter information distributed via fibre optic cable operated by Rogers Network Services.
The Toronto Transit Commission and the Government of Ontario (GO) Transit will also supply notice of delays of, or changes to, service.
Chris Watson, a spokesman for Montreal-based Weather Network, says the service is part of the basic cable packages operators offer.
Cost
Watson says cable subscribers pay 23 cents each a month for The Weather Network. Morning Report and The Weather Network carry advertising.
Watson says the next planned Morning Report shows are slated for Ottawa and Vancouver.
There is a Morning Report equivalent already broadcast from Montreal called Meteomedia.
Traffic conditions
Morning Report will also use the more than 60 cameras located on major highways in the Toronto region to show traffic flow and conditions.
The cameras are operated by compass, a division of Ontario’s Ministry of Transportation.
Because Morning Report uses fibre optic cable, Morrissette says The Weather Network can program specifically for the Toronto market and simultaneously produce another program for the service’s national requirements.
