With zero tax funding and up against three tax funded highly commercial Government Agencies, WeatherWatch.co.nz has clocked up 1.2 Million views over a 4 week period, with our programmes rating ahead of many NZ On Air tax funded shows.

The time period was Nov 15 to Dec 15 with 1,223,636 views on WeatherWatchTV according to YouTube. Our current rolling average is hovering just under 1 million monthly views as we draw to the end of December.

Niwa, MetService and TVNZ are collectively tax funded hundreds of millions each year to compete in this same commercial weather space. No where else on earth has that much Government competition in the weather sector, let alone in a country as tiny as ours.

TVNZ is a SOE (State Owned Enterprise) and pays SOE MetService for forecasts. Niwa is a CRI (Crown Research Institute) and is aggressively competing head on with MetService and private weather outlets for 10 years now and has resorted to giving mainstream news outlets free graphics from a tax funded super computer simply to target MetService’s dominance in the news.

News media have fallen for it hook, line – and sinker.

As a result of this, WeatherWatchTV on YouTube has continued to grow despite the most intense Government competition on earth. On top of that – every single mainstream news outlet in NZ also all, oddly, pay the one Government provider for weather. In all other modern nations news outlets compete with more relevant weather forecasts from the private sector – ya know, like these same NZ news outlets do in news and sport.

A number of our individual videos did better than popular NZ On Air funded shows too, included TVNZ’s much hyped “Q & A” which only had half the average viewership of our highest rated video in recent weeks. WeatherWatch.co.nz recently had over 206,000 views in a Cyclone Jasper video. According to NZ On Air’s website, Q&A had an average of 104,500 viewers during much of that same period – which was an intense time post our general election.

According to NZ On Air’s Top 10 Audience Ratings it would place WeatherWatchTV’s recent free YouTube videos in the top 5… despite us receiving zero financial support or funding on any level whatsoever from any Government agencies.

Intense loyalty from the New Zealand public – and now increasingly from open data market Australia – has come from a decade plus of mainstream news outlets no longer interested in accuracy of weather and climate outlooks, instead grasping for dramatic headlines which eventually burn out those who seriously have a big investment in weather for their livelihoods, like farmers, growers and many small business owners.

“The feedback we get from New Zealand and Australia is overwhelmingly repetitive – they say mainstream news outlets can’t help but over-hype every weather event and mostly they are just copying and pasting whatever the Government forecasters tell them. WeatherWatch is refreshingly independent, embracing AI, comfortingly ‘old school’ in delivery and frequently holds ourselves accountable in order to do better and build trust.” says WeatherWatch CEO Philip Duncan.

So, we thank YOU – the public – for being so understanding of what is right and what is *wrong with NZ’s weather industry. Your support has elevated us past state-funded shows that, it appears, aren’t being watched as much as our passionate and free programmes are.

Thank you!

*The NZ Government has launched yet another independent review (after ignoring the results of the last one a few years ago!) into the Niwa/MetService double up. This is following Niwa management’s refusal to front up and answer the most very basic transparency questions from both the NZ Listener and, more recently, the editor of the NZ Herald.

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**NZ ON AIR RATINGS**
The 10 highest rating funded television programmes on air between 5 November – 2 December 2023. Nielsen TAM Ratings.

1. Hyundai Country Calendar – TVNZ 1 – 591,800 viewers

2. After The Party – TVNZ 1 – 284.200

3. The Casketeers – TVNZ 1 – 250,000

4. Patrick Gower: On The Royals – Three – 130,900

5. Q+A – TVNZ 1 – 104,500

6. Funny As. The Story of the NZ Co (R) – TVNZ 1 – 48,000

7. Hyundai Country Calendar (R) – TVNZ 1 – 41,700

8. Attitude (R) – TVNZ 1 – 32,000

9. Newshub Nation – Three – 30,100

10. The Hui – Three – 24,800

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**WeatherWatchTV RATINGS – RECENT TOP 3 VIDEOS**
(Nov 15 to Dec 15 period) Google Analytics

1. Australia 7 Day – Nov 16 – 206,380 viewers
   
2. Cyclone Jasper Special Sunday Update – Dec 10 – 102,314
   
3. Special Cyclone Video – Dec 8 – 86,891

**WeatherWatchTV RATINGS – 2023 TOP 3 VIDEOS**
(Jan 1 to Dec 30 period) Google Analytics

1. Australia 7 Day – Nov 16 – 206,380 viewers
   
2. Sunday Update on Cyclone Gabrielle – Feb 11 – 173,946
   
3. Special Saturday update on Cyclone Gabrielle – Feb 10 – 168,483

SEASONAL OUTLOOKS / CLIMATE VIDEOS
YouTube Analytics – Jan 1 to Dec 30, 2023.

WeatherWatch (Free small business) vs NIWA (Government Agency)

Highest Rated Seasonal Video of the Year:
WeatherWatch: 115,000 views, May Video
NIWA: 1500 Views, September Video

Quite a remarkable difference between the two.

YouTube Numbers:
WeatherWatch: 1800 Videos and 56,400 Followers
NIWA: 316 Videos and 5180 Followers
MetService: 439 Videos and 2730 Followers

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Thank you for backing us!