Fox/24″/dt1st/mark2nd
By ANN DONAHUE
Staff Reporter
Trauma center live! Brain surgery live! Weird growths being removed from a child’s ear live!
Fox Entertainment Group, the company that brought you “When Animals Attack” and “The World’s Scariest Police Chases,” is bringing its inimitable style to the world of health care through a new cable channel.
Just under a month old, the Health Network already has plenty of what marketers like to call “Fox attitude.” The debut program was a live broadcast of a Caesarian-section birth of triplets in Phoenix, and there’s a biweekly show picturing actual medical procedures from tonsillectomies to open-heart surgery called “OR: Behind the Mask.”
“The purpose of these live events is to show people what happens and dispel the myths and the fears that come with these procedures,” said Marc Krigsman, vice president of programming, production and content. “We’re making people more informed.”
The Health Network was created through a recent merger of three health information sources: the America’s HealthNetwork cable channel, Internet site AHN.com, and Fox’s fledgling cable network, fittv. Fox acquired 50 percent of AHN and AHN.com in May.
The new channel, which has its corporate offices in Los Angeles and splits production between here and Orlando, Fla., starts off with 17.5 million cable and satellite television subscribers a decent but not spectacular viewership. (By comparison, Lifetime has 73 million subscribers.) In Los Angeles, it appears on Time Warner Inc.’s local cable service, as well as TCI, Prime One, Cox and Comcast.
Alongside coverage of surgical procedures, the network features exercise classes and health-related news shows. Morning programming includes “Jenny’s Fit in 15,” which is based on the guidelines of dieting guru Jenny Craig and hosted by her daughter, Denise.
“Integrative Medicine: Body, Mind and Spirit” is shown in prime time and hosted by former country singer Naomi Judd. She credits her remission from Hepatitis C to a mixture of yoga, herbal supplements and spirituality elements she discusses during the program.
For those who like the thought of exercising but don’t want to get off the couch, there’s “FIT Resort & Spa,” a “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous”-esque tour of vacation spots that attract celebrities looking to rejuvenate themselves.
The network includes an adjunct Web site, thehealthnetwork.com, that supplements programming with special reports and an online shopping center. With a fast enough Internet connection and the right software, Web users can watch the Health Network’s TV shows on their computers, in real time.
Krigsman believes the Health Network will follow the lead of other Fox spin-offs, like the Fox Family Channel and Fox Sports Net. “We have the technology that allows us to go live to our consumers,” he said. “Viewers can have direct relationships with our personalities, our talents, our directors, and that’s one of our big strong points.”
But media buyers say that Fox will have to convince a lot more cable operators to sign on before it becomes an attractive vehicle for advertisers no easy task, given the increasingly crowded cable dial.
“Seventeen million (subscribers) is not compelling,” said Bill Sellers, an associate director at media-buying agency Western Initiative Media. “They’ve got their work cut out for them.”
Plus, there’s competition on the horizon.
On Aug. 2, Bethesda, Md.-based Discovery Communications Inc. will launch the Discovery Health Channel, a cable network that will operate alongside the popular, science-oriented Discovery Channel.
A Web site, discoveryhealth.com, will provide users with everything from online chats with fitness experts to quizzes about your chances of developing osteoporosis. Company officials expect to have 15 million cable and satellite television subscribers by the end of the year.
“It’s a unique blend you need, one that’s both engaging and informative,” said John Ford, president of Discovery Health Medical Media. “I’m sure you’ll be able to tell the difference (between us and Fox) just by looking. What we plan to do is not much studio programming it’s much more out in the field.”
