• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, March 2, 2012

Several weeks after naming ex-VivaKi executive David Kenny as its CEO, the Weather Channel has tapped Bloomberg executive Chris Walters as COO. He will oversee technology, finance and other operations.

At Bloomberg, Walters held the COO role in the Bloomberg Industry Verticals Group.

David Kenny, who also led Digitas and Akamai, stated that Walters is “a strategist with the vision and understanding of the media and digital industries and a track record in operating innovative media and technology businesses.”

The Weather Channel continues to add reality-type series to prime time, announcing recently the coming launch of “Ice Pilots." But the cabler is looking to move deeper into digital distribution and outside the U.S. Advertiser Perceptions recently named it the “highest-rated media brand” in the mobile category as far as advertiser satisfaction.

Walters touted the Weather Channel’s “global brand strength, digital assets, and unparalleled reach across platforms" as a foundation to build on. He has a digital background, with former responsibilities for strategy and operations at a Bloomberg premium Web-based subscription business. He also launched Bloomberg’s foray into providing government data in 2011.

Before Bloomberg, Walters was a partner at McKinsey & Company, with experience in the media and entertainment sectors.

Kenny replaced Mike Kelly in the top role at Weather in January. Kelly had held the post since 2009. The company is partly owned by NBCUniversal and several private-equity businesses.