Forecaster Challenge: An Engaging Online Experience to Increase Audiences

This presentation will be the public premiere and launch of Forecaster Challenge 2.0.

Forecaster Challenge 2.0 ("FC 2.0") is a fun and educational website featuring broadcast meteorologists that will increase public awareness of upcoming significant weather events.

FC takes the form of a forecasting "game" that features broadcast meteorologists from locations around the United States. Video clips of local broadcast meteorologists discussing significant forecast weather events (snow, rain, high temperature, low temperature, tropical storms, et al) are embedded in the site and provide the baseline of information provided to FC game participants. FC participants will then be invited to join other participants and/or meteorologists, compare forecasts for upcoming weather events, and select the forecasts (or forecaster) they are most interested in following.

FC 2.0 is designed to be the first publicly available, large-scale, strategy and forecasting game designed specifically for weather. Games of this type have been successful in other verticals, most notably sports (“fantasy leagues”), politics (e.g. “PredictIt”), and entertainment (e.g. “HSX.com”).

Forecaster Challenge 2.0 is designed to leverage the success of Forecaster Challenge, which has developed a dedicated audience of weather enthusiasts. By featuring local and national broadcast meteorologists, FC 2.0 will provide a digital platform for increased exposure for participating meteorologists and amplify meteorologists’ forecasts to a broader, loyal and engaged audience.

Forecaster Challenge 2.0 will also extend the Forecaster Challenge model by allowing certain features to be "white-labeled" for direct integration into the broadcast and social media content of participating meteorologists. Furthermore, FC 2.0 is expected to offer sponsorship opportunities that will provide added incentives for audience participation and engagement.

The presentation will discuss how broadcast meteorologists may use Forecaster Challenge to increase audience engagement and audience size via their social media and broadcast channels. The presentation will feature case studies of the FC's use by existing broadcast meteorologists and will include a brief demonstration of the platform and its integration with social media.

If the time allotted permits, the presentation will also feature a panel discussion with several broadcast meteorologists who contributed to the evolution of FC 2.0.