Forecast Sunny Indeed for Weather Channel Sale

Some big companies are taking an interest in the newly for-sale Weather Channel, one of the last privately owned cable channels. NBC, News Corporation and Comcast are rumored to be eying the popular source of meteorology one prospective buyer dubbed "beachfront property" on the basic-cable landscape. The channel could go for $5 billion, the New York Times reports.

Family-owned Landmark Communications looks to be selling off its other media assets, including daily newspapers like the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot and Roanoke (Va.) Times. The company has 12,000 employees; the Weather Channel has 800, including 125 meteorologists. The channel's success has coincided with increased coverage of extreme weather events and special—and often controversial—programs on climate change. (More Weather Channel stories.)