Meteorologists from WLS-Channel 7 will deliver weather reports on the Sun-Times’ website as part of a new marketing agreement between the ABC-owned station and the newspaper.

Starting this week, ABC 7’s Tracy Butler, Mike Caplan and Phil Schwarz will record video forecasts three times a day on weekdays and twice daily on weekends for streaming on suntimes.com.

The marketing deal, renewable annually, also involves a 10-second promotional spot for the Sun-Times during a commercial break in the station’s top-rated 10 p.m. newscast and a quarter-page ad for ABC 7 each day in the print edition of the newspaper.

"We have been looking for a way to elevate our weather content at suntimes.com and WLS came forward with a pretty compelling opportunity,” said Jim Kirk, publisher and editor-in-chief of the Sun-Times. “We are excited about this new relationship and believe that the partnership will help both news brands." John Idler, president and general manager of ABC 7, was not available for comment Monday.

The ABC 7 arrangement signals an end to the longstanding marketing relationship between NBC-owned WMAQ-Channel 5 and the Sun-Times. In exchange for promoting headlines from the next day’s paper on NBC 5’s 10 p.m. newscast, the Sun-Times had been running a quarter-page ad and a box for weatherman Brant Miller.

In related marketing news, the Sun-Times just launched its first external advertising campaign in years. As part of a trade deal with the CTA, ads for the paper (such as those to the right and below) just began turning up on Red and Blue Line trains and several bus routes.

The ads, designed in house and using real headlines from the paper, focus on news, sports, features and columnists. The campaign runs through March 30.