Media Entrepreneur Mark Goldman has formed BE, an HD lifestyle network dedicated to yoga and wellness featuring many of the brightest stars in the field and offering an innovative revenue-sharing model for distributors. The plan provides for BE’s broadcast, cable and Internet partners to share in the large and growing advertising and commerce opportunities around wellness, representing a first for an entertainment and information network.
Goldman, founding COO of Current Media — (the television and Internet company formed by former Vice President Al Gore and entrepreneur Joel Hyatt) and, before that, president and COO of News Corp’s Sky Latin America — will serve as president and CEO of the new venture.
The network has signed yoga icons John Friend, founder of Anusara yoga, one of the most respected and fastest-growing schools with more than a thousand teachers and hundreds of thousands of students; Maya Fiennes, a star musician, yogi and TV personality in Europe whose celebrity clientele includes Elle Macpherson and Deepak Chopra; New York Times bestselling author Dr. Alejandro Junger, whose “open-minded medicine” practice has attracted Gwyneth Paltrow among a growing group of A-List celebrities; Dr. Timothy Brantley, whose research and years of work on nutritional healing is outlined in his bestselling book, The Cure; and Sophie Keller, whose practical tips for a happier life have made her a leading contributor on The Huffington Post and local news.
BE Network’s programming, targeted at women ages 30-65, will focus on various aspects of healthy living, including yoga and dance, nutrition, alternative healing, holistic medicine, stress reduction, beauty, anti-aging and more. The network’s primetime lineup will feature successful TV formats re-made with wellness themes. The common thread behind the network is an Eastern-based realization and rejuvenation philosophy, which asserts the keys to success, happiness and health already lie within us.
“As healthcare costs continue to spiral and threaten to overtake housing as the largest component of personal spending, people are increasingly looking for ways to incorporate well-being into their lifestyle, including seeking out experts and purchasing a growing array of wellness products and services,” Goldman said. “BE Network has assembled a highly dynamic and successful group of talented individuals who have built significant followings through the strength of their personalities, as well as the core principles of well-being around which they base their lives. Our innovative business model provides a powerful media platform for these individuals to gain exposure, along with a way for distributors to participate in the advertising and merchandising opportunities that evolve from it.”
