The Health Network Signs Major Distribution Deals With Time Warner Cable and Adelphia Agreement Features Carriage in 60% of Time Warner Homes, Including Time Warner Cable New York
PR NEWSWIRE - July 06, 2000 08:48
LOS ANGELES, Jul 6, 2000 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- The Health Network, the leading health television network which will become WebMD Television this fall, today announced the conclusion of two major national distribution deals with Time Warner Cable and Adelphia Communications Corporation. These agreements consist of Time Warner Cable agreeing to launch The Health Network in 60% of its homes and three million new Adelphia subscribers. Both deals will be fulfilled by the end of 2003.
Together, the extra distribution will expand The Health Network's contractual commitments to more than 40 million households in 2004, with expectations of over 50 million by 2006. Consequently, almost all large U.S. markets will have the network, including New York City and nearly every Adelphia-served home in Greater Los Angeles, including the influential communities of Beverly Hills, Brentwood, Santa Monica, and Pacific Palisades.
The agreements mark a milestone for The Health Network, cementing the channel's relationships with six of the top eight U.S. distributors, including the three largest--AT&T Broadband and Internet Services, Time Warner Cable and DirecTV.
"We are delighted that Time Warner Cable and Adelphia have committed precious bandwidth and license fees to the leader in the cable health category," said Lindsay Gardner, Executive Vice President of Affiliate Sales and Distribution at FOX Cable Networks, which leads distribution and affiliate marketing efforts for The Health Network. "Our agreements with leading distributors acknowledge the strength of our innovative, quality health programming."
"The Health Network will bring our customers an increasingly important programming category-health-and enhance the value of Time Warner Cable's offerings," said Fred Dressler, Senior Vice President of Programming for Time Warner Cable. "We look forward to delivering to our customers comprehensive health news and information."
"The Health Network's convergence strategy with WebMD, combined with its promise of compelling programming, translate to a must-carry for Adelphia," said Jeff Abbas, Vice President of Programming for Adelphia Communications.
The re-launch of The Health Network later this year as WebMD Television will coincide with a number of original programs and series to premiere on the network. These programs will allow WebMD Television to build on the network's tradition of producing 85-90% original programming, as well as synergize the resources, skills and knowledge at the Internet site. Details of these programs and specials will be announced at a later date.
FOX Cable Network's Lindsay Gardner will be available for interviews. Please call Ross Moonie at 212-402-5455, x105.
About The Health Network:
The Health Network is a leading consumer-health destination on television and the Internet, where doctors and other health experts provide credible, easy-to-understand health news and information 24 hours a day. Award-winning television programming ranges from shows dealing with the particular interests of health-related communities - such as parents, women and those with heart concerns - to shows about nutrition and fitness. Individuals can get more in-depth information and interact with the doctors, experts and other individuals through the Internet at www.WebMD.com. Currently available in more than 17.5 million homes via cable and satellite and millions more on the Web, FOX Networks, part of the FOX Entertainment Group, operates The Health Network (NYSE: FOX).
The Health Network is a 50/50 joint venture between FOX Cable Networks and Healtheon/WebMD (Nasdaq: HLTH). On December 7, 1999 News Corporation, the parent company to The Health Network, and Healtheon/WebMD announced an exclusive global partnership. The partnership will converge the two companies' complementary assets focusing on healthcare to create and promote unique and jointly run programming on both the Internet and television.
SOURCE The Health Network |
