Local Weather to Stay? Did KADN TV Parent Company Change Its Mind?

A powerful media company with affiliates in Lafayette, Louisiana may have just reversed course on what was apparently an unpopular decision. The plan was for local television affiliates that are owned and operated by Allen Media Group to discontinue their local weathercasts in favor of a centralized weathercast that The Weather Channel would provide.

Allen Media owns The Weather Channel and some 28 other television stations across the United States. The company operates KADN-TV Channel 15 which is a Fox Network affiliate. The company also operates KLAF from shared studios on Eraste Landry Road in Lafayette.

When the move was announced several of the Allen Media Group affiliates around the nation reported backlash on social media sites, irate phone calls from viewers, and a general criticism from other industry professionals. It was certainly ironic that as the news of the demise of local weather at KADN hit the streets about the same time all the snow started falling.

Cord Cutters News website reported that Allen Media Group informed employees that the decision had been reversed and that AMG would no longer hub the weather from Atlanta and the Weather Channel studios.

Several stations in the AMG family have already made posts concerning the future of meteorologists at those stations. It is unclear if the reversal will mean local weather will continue on KADN or if the decision to keep local meteorologists is being applied on a case-by-case basis.

We scanned KADN's social media pages and website and saw no mention of the policy reversal.

The decision to centralize the weather department for Allen Media was reportedly made as a cost-cutting measure. There have been several reports citing financial difficulties at Allen Media over the past few months.