FitTV
Discovery Communications, Inc. | |
History | |
---|---|
Launched | August 20, 1993 |
Closed | February 1, 2011 |
Replaced by | Discovery Fit & Health (after merger with Discovery Health Channel) |
Former names | Cable Health Club (1993–96) America's Health Network (1996–99) The Health Network (1999–2004) |
FitTV was an American
History
Establishment
International Family Entertainment (IFE) introduced a continuous preview of the Cable Health Club on August 20, 1993. Beginning August 31 of that year, the channel would be available in a half-hour continuous programming format to cable system operators for free. In October, the channel moved to 24-hour programming.[1] Jake Steinfeld, who had starred on the network's Big Brother Jake, hosted its first program[1] and was a constant presence on the channel in its early years.
The original formatting of an hour on Cable Health Club included a 20-minute aerobic conditioning workout at the top of the hour featuring Tamilee Webb; a segment on healthy living; a Body by Jake workout starting at the bottom of the hour; and "Fitness Plus", a home shopping segment for fitness items and equipment.
In 1994, Cable Health Club received new sponsors and minority partners,
In January 1997,
By April 1997, the Cable Health Club was renamed Fit TV.
America's Health Network
America's Health Network was in separate operation from FitTV from March 1996
15 minutes an hour on AHN was devoted to shopping. The "Health Mall" carried upscale, harder-to-find items for a healthy living. AHN had a deal with
With an initial cable audience of 200,000 subscribers, America's Health Network had reached 700,000 subscribers by May 1996 and 6 million by the time of the sale of its first majority owners. However, cable carriage was a long struggle for AHN and other cable outlets that launched in this time frame (Electronic Media, now TV Week magazine, described the environment many cable networks launched in 1996 faced as a "jungle"). Time Warner Cable, the primary cable provider in Orlando, did not carry AHN, and so many people in the channel's own hometown were unable to see its programs.[citation needed]
Providence Journal acquisition
In 1997, Providence Journal was bought by the
During this time, another minority investor in the channel was Access Health, a referral service.
1998–99: New milestones
On June 16, 1998, AHN presented the first human birth carried live over the Internet, from Orlando's Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children. The birth brought AHN major national and worldwide media attention and was even the focus of an editorial cartoon two days later in USA Today. By this time, it reached 8 million cable homes, comparable to the CNN/SI cable network (which would fold in 2002) and the Game Show Network.[17]
By June 1999, Scott and Vandewater had reduced their stake in America's Health.[18]
Shows in the AHN era
- Ask the Doctor was a program where medical professionals took viewer calls in two-hour time blocks. At launch, AHN had hired 16 doctors, seven of them from the Orlando area. Shows filmed during Universal Studios theme park hours had studio audiences.[9] By the time AHN ceased producing live series in 1997, it had filmed approximately 7,000 hours of studio shows.
Merger and acquisition
On September 12, 1999, Fox Cable Networks Group bought America's Health Network, owned by Rick Scott & David Vandewater, and merged it with FitTV, which Fox Cable already owned.[19] The resulting network was named The Health Network. In December, Fox Cable sold 50% of the channel to WebMD.
By the start of the year 2000, The Health Network reached 17.5 million homes. At the start of 2000, the station began new headquarters in Los Angeles, and about half of its Orlando workforce was laid off, leaving 40 people out of work. The station also ran supplementary offices in New York and Nashville. At the time, The Health Network stated it was moving more of its production to New York and Los Angeles so it could feature more celebrities on its lineup.[20] In the fall of 2000, it very nearly relaunched as WebMD Television, with new programs and the removal of the AHN studio program library from its schedule;[21] that plan was put on hold, and Fox received the 50% of the channel it had sold back from WebMD, which had lost $2 billion in 2000.[22]
On September 1, 2001, Discovery Communications bought The Health Network for $255 million in cash and equity.[23] On January 1, 2004, Discovery reinstated the "FitTV" name, as Discovery recently owned its own health channel, Discovery Health.
In March 2006, New York-based Cablevision dropped the channel from its systems, resulting in the loss of some three million subscribers (down to 35 million).[24] In January 2011, the channel's carriage remained significantly lower than most cable networks, only holding a reach of 50 million homes.
Back to "Health"
On January 1, 2011, Discovery Communications used the Discovery Health channel space to launch
On January 17, 2011, Discovery Communications announced that FitTV would be rebranded as Discovery Fit & Health on February 1, reflecting the addition of former Discovery Health programs to its lineup.[25][26]
Former programs
- Total Body Sculpt with Gilad
- Shimmy
- Gilad's Bodies in Motion
- Namaste Yoga
- Power Hour
- In Shape with Sharon Mann
- Cathe Friedrich
- All Star Workouts
- Marilu Henner's Shape Up Your Life
- Art of the Athlete
- Blaine's Low Carb Kitchen
- FitNation
- Housecalls
- Ultimate Goals
- Diet Doctor
- The Gym
- No Opportunity Wasted
- Reunion Story
- Lyon in the Kitchen
- Get Fresh with Sara Snow
- Cardio Blast
- Caribbean Workout
References
- ^ a b Brown, Rich (August 23, 1993). "Family plans health channel". Broadcasting & Cable. Archived from the original on November 5, 2012. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
- ^ "Cable Health Club takes new partners." Adweek Western Edition 2 May 1994: 12.
- ^ a b Martin, Molly (November 6, 1994). "TV Workouts -- All Exercise Shows Are Not Created Equal". Seattle Times. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
- ^ a b Nicholson, David (April 19, 1997). "After Cutback, Fit Tv Seeks Viewer Support". Daily Press. Archived from the original on March 1, 2016. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
- ^ Peers, Martin; Richmond, Ray; Levin, Gary (June 12, 1997). "Family affair for Fox Kids". Variety. Retrieved 2009-08-14.
- ^ Hofmeister, Sallie (July 17, 1997). "News Corp. Taps Fox Kids' Exec". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
- ^ Health Care, Orlando Sentinel, May 23, 1996
- ^ Universal Studios Florida is Site of New America's Health Network Production Center Archived 2016-03-05 at the Wayback Machine, The Free Library, August 7, 1995
- ^ a b Hinman, Catherine. Network Set to Make House Calls, Orlando Sentinel, March 24, 1996
- ^ McConville, Jim. "1996 launches hunt subs: It's a jungle out there." Electronic Media 25 August 1997: 12-13.
- ^ Abbott, Jim, and Hagstrom, Suzy. Cable Network Cuts 161 Jobs, Orlando Sentinel, August 2, 1997.
- Higgins, John M., "Belo scrubs America's Health." Broadcasting and Cable 11 August 1997: 71.
- ^ Columbia Tunes In to Health Network, Orlando Sentinel, May 15, 1997
- ^ Asplund, Jon. "Ex-Columbia exec spins Web for health care cable network." AHA News 11 May 1998: 4.
- ^ Abbott, Jim. Health Network Buys Controlling Stake; Orlando Sentinel, August 6, 1997.
- ^ Hall, Lee. "AHN finds pulse in '98". Electronic Media 30 March 1998: 8-9.
- ^ Channel Is Glowing, Orlando Sentinel, June 19, 1998
- ^ Kirchheimer, Barbara. "Scott, Vandewater tuning out network." Modern Healthcare 21 June 1999: 38.
- ^ "Fox Launching Health TV Network". AP NEWS.
- ^ Abbott, Jim. The Health Network Lays Off 40 Employees; Orlando Sentinel, January 21, 2000.
- ^ Donohue, Steve. "Health net may become WebMDTV." Multichannel News 14 February 2000: 3-4.
- ^ Moss, Linda. "News Corp. Gets All of Health Network." Multichannel News 8 January 2001: 18.
- ^ Discovery Finds That FitTV Was Best Fit After All, Multichannel News, October 12, 2003
- ^ R. Thomas Umstead. Cablevision Drops Fit TV, Multichannel News, April 3, 2006.
- ^ "Discovery Health Lives On, Combining With FitTV". Multichannel. Retrieved 2018-03-10.
- ^ "Discovery To Launch New Health, Fitness Channel". TVNewsCheck. January 17, 2011. Retrieved April 26, 2015.