Media company EW Scripps buys weather app maker WeatherSphere

The E.W. Scripps Co., the media company that is spinning off its newspaper business, said Wednesday that it bought weather app maker WeatherSphere. The companies did not give financial details of the deal.

WeatherSphere makes seven apps, including RadarCast, WheatherAlerts and Lightning Cast, which offers users radar images, forecasts and sirens if a tornado, hurricane or other severe weather is expected. The apps typically cost between $1.99 and $3.99. The app Hi-Def Animated Radar is free.

The company said the deal will boost its digital business. Late last year, it bought video news startup Newsy for $35 million.

"Acquiring WeatherSphere lets us secure that relationship with an entirely new generation of consumers seeking a way to get weather information wherever they are," said Adam Symson, a chief digital officer at Scripps, in a statement.

Scripps announced in July that it would combine its broadcast operations with Milwaukee-based media company Journal Communications Inc. and spin off their newspaper businesses into a new company, called Journal Media Group. Scripps will stay headquartered Cincinnati and keep its name after the deal closes next year. It will own and operate TV and radio stations in 27 markets and the digital businesses.

Shares of Scripps fell 28 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $16.31 in midday trading Wednesday.