Reliant extends its sponsorship of Space City Weather for three years—here’s why that matters

Hi everyone. Matt and I are excited to announce a three-year extension of our long-running relationship with Reliant, which will extend their exclusive sponsorship through 2026. As some of you may recall, they came on board a few months before Hurricane Harvey in 2017, and we’ve never looked back. Houston is Reliant’s hometown, their president Elizabeth Killinger and their employees are avid SCW supporters, and they totally get what we’re about. (She and I filmed a video you should check out). This is great news for readers as well, because Reliant could not be a better partner to keep Space City Weather powered up for years to come.

Here’s why: 

Clean interface: Thanks to this sponsorship, we never have to run any intrusive advertising on this website. That means no autoplay video garbage. No pop-ups. No tracking. None of that nonsense. Instead, you’ll see tasteful branding on our pages and in our products, and the (very) occasional sponsor message that provides useful information on energy efficiency or new initiatives. Seriously, Reliant is an awesome, hands-off sponsor that lets us focus on what we do best.

No hype: Because of the nature of our agreement, we don’t feel pressured to chase clicks for the sake of chasing clicks. We are not getting paid for the traffic we generate. (Typically, online advertisers pay per impression on readers). This is why you sometimes see sensationalist content online. It sells. Anyway, we’re empowered to simply write what we think needs to be written, and nothing more. There will be some Mondays when we tell you to ignore the forecast for the rest of the week, and Reliant is fully supportive of that. 

Cool stuff: Thanks to our sponsorship, we’ve been able to do some pretty cool stuff. A recent example that comes to mind is hosting a Fall Day celebration the last two years. Reliant has entirely underwritten these events and organized them for us. We’ve also done some great giveaways, including four full air conditioning systems, Houston Astros tickets and jerseys and more. All of this is in partnership with Reliant and their team is behind it all. It brings an element of fun to the awesome community we’ve built here. 

Certainty: With a three-year agreement, we can continue to invest in Space City Weather, our app, and other initiatives. And we’re already making plans to do just that. We’re not going anywhere, and it’s great to have Reliant at our side.

So yeah, we’re pretty pumped to continue working with Reliant in the coming years.

82 thoughts on “Reliant extends its sponsorship of Space City Weather for three years—here’s why that matters”

  7. Thanks Reliant! This is one of the reasons we’re a customer. Also, the weather headline sensationalism is awful. Having been a multiple flood/hurricane victim, it’s reassuring that honest and un-hyped content is provided by the good folks at SCW.

  8. Does it irritate you that the Chronicle is now mimicking you, including timing their posts?

    • The funny thing is that I started Space City Weather back in 2015 because the Chronicle did not have the budget to support an ongoing weather site. I was leaving to take a job writing about space for Ars Technica, but I offered to continue doing weather reporting for the Chronicle — basically what I am doing here on SCW for their website. I asked for $25,000 a year. They declined. Then SCW became a success. In the years since they have tried to buy this site a couple of times, and offered to pay money to syndicate the content. Because I believe Space City Weather works best as an independent site, I have politely declined.

      That is long way of answering your question, but the short answer is no, it doesn’t bother me. I honestly don’t pay attention to other local forecasters outside of the National Weather Service. It’s not because I don’t respect them. It’s because I’m focused on what Matt and I are doing here, and following the data where it leads us.

      • First, congratulation on the sponsorship renewal with Reliant. Second, thank you to Reliant for being a great partner to SCW.

        Third, this was an interesting backstory to how it all got started and how the Chronicle flubbed its chance to land a great asset. Life is full of these so its loss is Reliant’s gain.

        Add me to the chorus of loving SCW and what it has done over the years.

      • Thanks for sharing your straight forward historical background of the connection between you and Houston Chronicle. The work you, Matt, Maria, Dwight perform for the greater Houston Metropolitan area, as a result of the negotiation 8+ years ago, is truly a silver lining for all of us.
        Hope your experience will encourage others who have an idea to step out in boldness and trust to pursue their dream.

  9. Great news. I really rely on SCW and appreciate the service they provide. I spend some time on the East coast as well and also appreciate the geographic extension for hurricane coverage. Good stuff!

  11. Congratulations and keep up the good work. I look forward to your email post every day!
    Thanks Reliant for backing these folks!

  23. Good for you folks. SCW is the first port of call for weather for us – every time. Thanks.

  25. I read your postings with great interest every day. I appreciate the candidness of your analysis and I commend Reliant for their sponsorship.

  28. Terrific news. Love your site, app and emails. Just great weather forecasts that are far more accurate than the network news. No sensationalism either

  30. Such wonderful news! Y’all are HANDS DOWN the best source for weather and hurricane information in the Houston area. So glad that you have the support of Reliant and don’t feel the advertising pressure that so many content creators feel they need.

  32. I heard about you guys during Harvey and started following you at that time. I don’t trust anybody else for weather forecasting. Thanks for your work, and it’s great to know Reliant is helping the good work keep going.

  33. Coincidence …I renewed my service with Reliant for 3 years back in November. Glad my money helps fund your services – Space City Weather is my go-to for weather information. Thanks for the great job and entertaining updates.

  36. Thanks for being the best weather service available to the Houston area, bar none. When I want just the weather in a clean and clear format you guys deliver every day. You never disappoint and your wit is always right on point. Thank you Reliant for you seeing the value these guys bring to our area and keeping them front and center versus the ad full alternatives.

  38. Hooray! I depend on y’all every day. Thanks for your truthful, no nonsense forecasts with some humor tossed in.
    Keep on keepin on…

  40. Congratulations and thank you for all you do. Great, reliable information and you are appreciated!

  41. At first SCW was interesting, then informative, and now I’d be lost without you guys! So happy about the extension!

  44. Congratulations! Great partnership! You are the only source for weather as far as we are concerned!

  49. Congratulations to SCW and “thank you” to Reliant. This partnership is a valuable investment for ALL of us!

  57. Wonderful news! I’ve been a Reliant customer for over 45 years! I’m so glad that they are your big sponsor because they care about your great weather website that we all love for the best updates on weather in our area!

  59. Woo hoo! That is great news. Thank you, Reliant, for supporting Matt & Eric in the work they do here.

  62. Thank you, Reliant President Elizabeth Killinger and Director, Community Relations and Sponsorship Marketing Leanne Schneider. We will now think of y’all every morning when we read the latest SCW update!

  65. What great news! Congratulations to everyone at SCW and Reliant – could not be a better combination. Can’t wait to see the next T-Shirt with that cool new skyline look!

  66. Thank you, Reliant. It’s nice to get the weather, the whole weather and nothing but the weather.

  69. Meanwhile, back to the weather. It was a lovely day to be outside, 62 mile ride on the trail today.

  70. Thanks, Reliant and thank you Space City Weather! You guys run circles around the Weather Channel!

  77. Great news and love the analysis of why they’re a good sponsor. I switched to Reliant this past year because of you guys.

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