Roker Joins Weather Channel's Morning Team
'Wake Up With Al' To Feature Stephanie Abrams As Atlanta-Based Co-Host
Mike Reynolds -- Multichannel News, 4/29/2009 11:29:36 AM MT
Al Roker has been named host of Wake Up With Al, a new weekday morning program on The Weather Channel.
Roker, the longtime weatherman and feature reporter on broadcast brethren NBC, will join The Weather Channel's Stephanie Abrams, who will serve as his co-host on the hour-long weekday show, starting at 6 a.m. The show is expected to bow this summer.
Wake Up with Al will explore all aspects of the day's weather, combining Roker's personable style with the accuracy, dependability and expertise of The Weather Channel. He will appear both in the studio, interacting with guests and viewers, and in the field, reporting on the most compelling weather stories of the day.
The show will air live from both New York City and Atlanta. Abrams will report from the southern city's state-of-the-art TWC HD studio, equipped with a 37-foot wide video screen and true HD weather graphics that have revolutionized TV weather presentation.
"Simply put, Al Roker is synonymous with weather. He has an energy and a style that jumps off the screen, and we already know that people want to wake up with him in the morning," said The Weather Channel interim CEO Lisa Gersh in a statement. "We have spent months coming up with the right way to integrate Al into The Weather Channel's programming, and I think, alongside Stephanie, we've come up with the perfect formula with this announcement."
Noted Roker: "Over the years, I have been out covering the same snowstorms, hurricanes and tornado aftermath as the folks at The Weather Channel. It is really exciting to be working on The Weather Channel, bringing the best weather information to people as they start their day. And now I get free baseball caps and fleeces from two of the best information networks in the world."
