BBC weather forecasts from Spring next year will come courtesy of the Meteo Group, which started in the Netherlands, but now has its HQ in the UK, with 450 staff in offices around the world. It's owned by an American investment group. General Atlantic, who bought it from the Press Association in 2014.
After a protracted tender process, with the Met Office falling at an earlier hurdle, Meteo are thought to have beaten New Zealand firm, Metra, in final negotiations. The Met Office will still supply the Shipping Forecast and severe weather warnings.
Meteo won the Sky News contract in 2011. They also supply Channel 4, the National Grid and Network Rail with forecasts.
The BBC Weather app has been downloaded more than 15 million times; the Met Office relaunched their mobile app two months ago - it's ad supported. and has so far clocked up 500,000 downloads.
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So do do we lose the present weather graphics - by Weatherscape XT - which is provided by the commercial arm of New Zealand's MetraWeather and a rival bidder to Meteo?
ReplyDeleteI found the management speak of Nigel Charters quite depressing:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/aboutthebbc/entries/d20e8e7e-0d68-4f75-a156-70baa4db742b