Fox Sets Ad-Supported Streaming Weather Service

Fox News Media will introduce a new, advertising supported, streaming weather service entitled Fox Weather in the third quarter of 2021. Sharri Berg, currently the chief operating officer of news and operations for Fox Television Stations (FTS), will take on the additional role of president of Fox Weather, reporting to Scott, and will relinquish her role as the executive vice president of news operations for Fox News Channel (FNC).

In making the announcement, Suzanne Scott, CEO of Fox News Media, said: “As Fox News Media continues to deliver the best in news content, it was only natural to expand our footprint to weather with the launch of our eighth platform, Fox Weather, and there is no one better to lead this new venture than Sharri Berg. Sharri is an immensely talented executive with extraordinary leadership skills and a unique ability to collaborate and execute across multiple divisions.”

Berg added: “Weather is a vital component to news and combining our trusted reporters and expert meteorologists from Fox News and FTS nationwide, the Fox Weather products will be built to serve our audiences in a customized fashion. I’m excited to get started as we continue to innovate and build new products from the ground up.”

The platform will make its debut with the Fox Weather App in 3Q 2021, accompanied by an integrated website and streaming service featuring local, regional and national updates as well as live programming. The ad-supported cross-divisional initiative will build upon a collaboration of FNC and FTS’ resources, leveraging a team of more than 75 meteorologists across 17 stations and FNC’s newsgathering units. Headquartered in New York City, the Fox Weather Meteorological Center will integrate the FTS radar network, cutting-edge display technology and unmatched weather and forecasting experts surrounding every major weather event, as well as precise local updates.

A founding member of the FNC launch team, Berg has held several senior management positions throughout the past 24 years of its existence, including serving in a dual role spanning FNC and FTS since 2005. In 2016, she was named chief operating officer of news and operations at FTS while maintaining her role as the EVP of news operations at FNC.

Throughout her tenure with Fox, Berg has spearheaded multiple innovations in newsgathering, including the launch of the ground-breaking newsgathering consortium between Fox, ABC & CBS, known as Network News Service (NNS), which she will continue to oversee. She later replicated this venture on the local television level, developing the business model and launching the Local News Service (LNS), partnering with other local stations for helicopter and newsgathering in 13 major markets. She will also continue to oversee Fox’s Affiliate News Service, News Edge, which provides all news content to 180 Fox affiliates.

In 2016, Berg launched the cross-divisional initiative Fox Flight Operations, a national aerial newsgathering program featuring more than 100 pilots trained within Fox using drones in everyday news coverage.

Additionally, Berg created the Fox News Multimedia Reporter Training Program, a two-year hands-on development program for aspiring journalists which she will also continue to run as it enters its 10th year. Many of the program’s graduates are currently FNC, Fox Business, Fox News Edge and Fox O&O station correspondents across the country.