A new era in television is coming. New free video-on-demand fitness programming is on the way. Exercise TV, the video-on-demand programmer, is buffing up in ad sales dollars. The VOD provider partially owned by fitness personality Jake Steinfeld, famous for Body by Jake, is starting a program for the VOD channel.  Exercise TV is only four years old. In 2009 they reported a 48% revenue increase.

In 2009, Exercise TV had more than 150 videos and averages 6.5 million viewers per month. This includes VOD ad sales and DVD sales. The company credits well known trainers such as Jillian Michaels, trainer on NBC’s The Biggest Loser, and Billy Blanks Jr., for most of the boost in sales.

The new channel will provide exercise programs, you would see normally buy in the store, free for those who get the channel.

Exercise TV will rely on ad sales to fund the programs.  Most of the ads are aired before the program starts, however, some will appear in the bottom third of the screen during the program.
The channel will show the Jillian Michaels’s Bootylicious franchise and Yoga Meltdown as well as 30-Day Jumpstart and Last Chance Workout. The new channel format will go up against Fit TV, who has a similar format. The CEO of CableU.tv, a cable network research firm, says that this is a tough network to grow. He also says that fitness videos on demand is great for viewer convenience.

This could be a really good option for people who have limited time to find a way to work out. If this works we may see more free video-on-demand channels, like TVLand on demand. If I could see M*A*S*H or Gilligan’s Island when I wanted to, that would be awesome!