Lime TV
Lime TV, formerly known as WISDOM Television, is now defunct as a traditional television network and has instead focused and expanded into new digital media. The current Lime online website offers information and entertainment centered on physical and mental health with a soft focus on organic ingredients, whole foods consumption, mental conditioning through meditation and yoga, and physical fitness. Up until February 2007, Lime's programming was available on certain digital cable and satellite systems (primarily DISH and Comcast Digital). Now, it is available only over the Internet, mobile web, and satellite radio, with a small sampling of Video on Demand features on some cable systems. Like many production companies and internet ventures, Lime also produces several DVD titles. Themes include the Lime Simple Steps. Lime's main slogan is: "Healthy Living with a Twist".
WISDOM Channel
WISDOM Television and Radio was founded in 1999 by William Turner in Bluefield, West Virginia. Turner (no relation to Ted Turner) was an early entrant into the cable and satellite television business. He introduced regional cable television service in Bluefield, West Virginia, area and then expanded into the C-band service (large dish) business with potential exposure in most major US cities. The programming centered on new-age entertainment, alternative medicine, and philosophy.
In later years of operation, particularly after 2003, the channel was at-odds with Christians within the Turner extended family. At this time the network was losing money at an alarming rate which led WISDOM to desperately seek a buyer. No buyer came forward in spite of aggressive efforts by a top flight venture capital firm in California. Viewer Ratings of the channel were estimated in the dozens. Turner never allowed audience measurement and Wisdom was never measured or a part of the Nielsen service since it was a digital-only/C-Band offering with very limited viewership. As the ability to carry channels on cable/satellite networks became tighter in the early 2000s, however, the station became more attractive for purchase than it was in the prior years of operation.
AOL Acquisition
In 2005, the network was acquired by a company led by AOL Co-Founder, Steve Case. The channel was soon renamed and rebranded as Lime TV. The details of Case's acquisition have never been publicly disclosed, but the purchase by Case's company included WISDOM's carriage and distribution contracts with DISH, Comcast, Insight Communications, and Sirius Radio, as well as WISDOM's programming library.
As Lime TV/Radio
Present day Lime TV combined community and editorial content with streamed video and social networking tools. Lime.com included features such as The Meditation Room, eco-celebrity gossip in The Green Room, a news feed and articles, tips, and polls. Lime.com was also the home of a feature called Live the Change that offers simple tips that make big changes for living better. Updated weekly, Lime's podcasts offered nine channels of content covering tips and information from Lime Radio and Lime Television hosts, specifically customized for podcast content. Podcast topics include eco-friendly gardening, fighting stress, parenting skills, and relationship advice.
Lime Radio was a 24/7 channel on Sirius Satellite Radio channel 114. It offered 12 daily hours of live call-in shows. Hosts include Andrew Weil, herbal pharmacist Dave Foreman, supermarket guru Phil Lempert, Jesse Dylan, Neale Donald Walsch, Josh Dorfman ("The Lazy Environmentalist"), Mel Robbins and Karen Salmansohn. The channel has been discontinued on February 13, 2008.
Lime Wireless provided mobile phone information on wellness, sustainability and personal growth. It was available on Sprint and Verizon Wireless via their mobile portal pages.
End of Service
On January 29, 2007, Lime announced they would discontinue the television channel in favor of online content distribution.[1] Both Comcast Cable and Dish Network notified their subscribers that the last day of Lime TV service would be February 25, 2007.
In August 2007, LIME was purchased by GAIAM, a health and wellness company that operates GAIAM.com.
References
- ↑ Lime TV Going Dark, Multichannel News, January 29, 2007