TV4 Entertainment launching raft of health and wellness networks

Los Angeles-based OTT channels provider TV4 Entertainment has created a new subsidiary to operate a portfolio of streaming channels dedicated to mental and physical health and wellness.

Digital Health Networks (DHN) will work with experts to aggregate, produce and curate video content on specific topics in the form of focused channel brands, according to the company.

The first channel, Thrive Cancer Network, will launch in the autumn with a library of over 1,000 hours of content. Thrive will be joned over the next year by channels dedicated to nutrition, stress management, chronic pain, autism, fitness, addiction, diabetes and caregivers. All channels will launch globally as free services, with premium member content tiers, according to TV4 Entertainment.

DHN will make use of TV4 Entertainment’s shared services channel infrastructure, technology platform, monetization engine and global distribution footprint, according to the company.

DHN channels will be offered direct to viewers through websites and apps, and distributed to television, streaming and mobile platforms, as well as point-of-care domains including physician offices, hospitals and telemedicine screens.

Former chief marketing officer and founding team member of Liberty Media’s Starz, Mike Hale, will serve as managing director. Entertainment industry veteran and cancer survivor turned patient advocate Jonathan Sommers will oversee DHN’s originals studio. According to TV4 Entertainment, Sommers also serves on SWOG’s Digital Engagement Committee, an international cancer clinical trials network supported by the US National Cancer Institute.

Advisors to DHN include Jeffrey Erb, president of Healix at IPG Mediabrands, Gary Hutchinson, entrepreneur in residence at Alfred E. Mann Institute for Biomedical Engineering at the University of Southern California, and Dr Ron Pion, described by TV4 Entertainment as a healthcare telecommunications pioneer and entrepreneur.

“Finding quality video to maximize individual well-being is overwhelming. Disease brings with it chaos. We created Digital Health Networks to offer better choices that help patients, caregivers and survivors cut through the clutter and bring clarity in chaos,” said Jon Cody, founder and CEO, TV4 Entertainment.

“Health, wellness, and disease touch everyone; each of us has a story. Digital Health Networks combines the tradecraft of storytelling with the power of personal experience. Who better to inspire, give advice, and discuss lifestyle options than someone who has been there?” We look forward to providing a new media platform for authentic storytelling that can positively impact the lives of hundreds of millions of people,” said Hale.