ABC's Live Well is About to Die
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ABC says they will discontinue its Live Well Network in mid-January.
Focused on food, fashion and travel, Live Well was viewed as an example of what broadcasters could pull off in the multicast space, with original programming and partner stations both within the ABC owned group and outside of it. But the numbers were not working for ABC.
“Despite Live Well's tremendous accomplishments in distribution and original programming, we made a strategic decision that our priority must be local content, and we want to maximize our investment in our core local news brands in the digital space,” said Rebecca Campbell president of ABC Owned Television Stations, and Peggy Allen, Live Well VP of programming and operations, in a letter to Live Well partners.
Live Will was brought to life by WLS (Chicago) General Manager Emily Barr, the ABC-owned stations launched Live Well Network, initially known as Live Well HD, in the spring of 2009. In the fall of 2010, five Belo stations began airing it.
