Live Well Network

Live Well Network, the digital subchannel carried by ABC O&Os, won’t be signing off today after all. ABC Owned Television Stations Group announced last June that it would cease operation of the network at the end of this week. But the company now says it will continue to air reruns of Live Well programming for at least the next two months on its eight owned stations, which launched the network in 2009.

The decision to shut down Live Well appears primarily to be driven by the difficulty of selling advertising around the programming. “The economics didn’t work,” says Bill Carroll, VP, director of programming for Katz Media. However, Carroll thinks the shutdown may also have been influenced by a recent announcement from CBS that it is creating a new digital news network which will likely be carried in the digital space.

The decision to shut down the diginet appears primarily to be driven by the difficulty of selling advertising around the programming. “The economics didn’t work,” said Bill Carroll, VP, director of programming for Katz Media. “It’s difficult for [broadcasters] to sell smaller audiences when advertisers are used to broadcast delivering bigger numbers. It’s just that simple.”

While multicasting is still in its infancy, a growing number of the D2 and D3 channels have turned into new revenue streams, accounting for about 3% of station ad money, according to BIA/Kelsey. The biggest earners are broadcast networks that don’t have a full-power home, but multicast-only nets like This TV, Live Well, Antenna TV, Bounce TV and Me-TV are creating their own growing niches as well.

The lifestyle diginet adds WKRN Nashville, WBAY Green Bay, Wis.; KLFY Lafayette, La.; WLNS Lansing, Mich.; WRIC Richmond, Va., WATE Knoxville, Tenn.; and WTEN Albany, N.Y.

The Live Well Network today announced it was continuing its U.S. broadcast airing of lifestyle series, Steven and Chris for fall 2012. Hosted by Steven Sabados and Chris Hyndman, the […]

The addition of the diginet owned by the ABC Owned Television Stations Group brings its national coverage to 60% of U.S. households.

Herb Ford today was named national account executive for the Live Well Network, the broadcast, online and wireless service for digital channels in local markets owned by the ABC Owned […]

These affiliates in Providence, Des Moines, Davenport, Lincoln and Sioux City bring the ABC diginet’s U.S. clearance to about 55%.

KSL Salt Lake City, WBIN Boston and low-power WBGN-CA Pittsburgh are the latest stations to join the multicast network’s affiliate lineup, boosting U.S. coverage to over 50%.

The addition of KING Seattle and KSKN Spokane brings the multicast network’s total clearance to about 50% of U.S. TV households.