Retro 8s Live

Retro 8s Live
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Running time	60 minutes
Release
Original network	The Weather Channel
Picture format	NTSC HDTV 1080i
Original release	June 27 (2023-06-27) – November 3, 2023 (2023-11-03)

Retro 8s Live was a block of looping national weather forecasts presented by The Weather Channel in a style purposefully mimicking the look of the Weather Star 4000.

Format and theme

Retro 8s Live highlighted national weather conditions and forecasts in a similar manner to the network’s contemporary national forecast segments, except with a mock Weather Star 4000 theme. There were some differences between the new theme and the original Star, such as the fonts not matching the original and the extended forecast using map icons. It was unknown where the map icons used in the presentation were sourced—either internally or from TWC Classics, which released a set of the Weather Star 4000 map icons recreated by the now-deceased Charles Abel-Lear (The Weather Chazz) in the 2000s.

The format showed a Local on the 8s-like segment for various major cities throughout the nation, with map products and an 8-city regional conditions product in between. The segment went through regions of the country such as the Northeast and Midwest as contemporary national forecast products did.

The block aired from 4-5 AM EDT Tuesdays through Saturdays.

History

Retro 8s Live premiered quietly in the early morning hours of June 27, 2023, but caught the immediate attention of some. News of the new retro segment spread over Twitter within an hour and reached the network’s fan base shortly after. The block continued with little change until November 3, 2023, when it aired for the final time and was subsequently removed from the network lineup.

Reception

The release of the retro-themed block was almost immediately with praise from viewers, and has been received with praise by the fan community. The block appeared to be an ode to longtime viewers who grew up during the network’s early years.

Starting around July 2023, The Weather Channel began taking down unrelated live streams of the Weather Star 4000 on YouTube, including Weather Star 4000 simulator streams. The text of such copyright claims purported that such streams used content directly from Retro 8s (referred to as 'The Retro on the 8s' in the claims), despite the streams not using any content from the block. Even more, many such streams were being streamed long prior to Retro 8s' launch. The action caused a negative reception within the community.

See also

• Weather Star 4000
• Local on the 8s