$5 billion for The Weather Channel? Who knew?

Maybe I'm weird, but I've always kind of taken The Weather Channel for granted. It's just kinda there and I never really thought it was that valuable.

But the New York Times is reporting that the station is for sale and is expected to fetch in the neighborhood of $5 billion, with NBC, News Corp, and Comcast among those said to be interested in making a bid.

Why is it worth so much? Because it's breaking news that changes frequently, the station is pretty much impervious to the effect of Tivo, a big draw for advertisers. In addition, the people who rely on the Weather Channel most frequently -- travelers, skiers, etc. -- tend to earn good incomes, another big plus in terms of attracting advertisers.

The Times adds that the station's website, Weather.com, "as the nation's 18th-largest media site by traffic, with more than 32 million unique users in November, according to Nielsen/NetRatings. That is bigger than CNN and Facebook."

On a smaller scale, the station has also produced a CD featuring the smooth jazz that is a hallmark of its broadcast.

If News Corp. does end up landing the network, Rupert Murdoch could end up paying about the same price that he paid for Dow Jones, the parent company of The Wall Street Jounal. But one's thing's for sure: The deal won't generate 1/100th the headlines that one did.