NBA Selects Kaiser Permanente As First Health Care Partner

Leslie Jaye Goff — Thu, 22 Jan 2015 20:30:00 +0000

The National Basketball Association and health care company Kaiser Permanente have entered a strategic partnership to promote health and wellness within the league as well as in local communities.

As part of the NBA's first-ever partnership with a health care industry player, Kaiser Permanente has comitted to buying air time during NBA national telecasts on ESPN and TNT, an NBA spokesman confirmed. Kaiser also becomes the official health care expert and consultant internally to the league, the Women’s National Basketball Association, the NBA Development League and USA Basketball. The relationship is Kaiser Permanente's first with a professional sports league.

Kaiser Permanente will also play a key role in the development of an annual NBA Health and Wellness Forum to address health issues affecting NBA fans and local communities. The forum will feature top leaders in the health care industry as well as representatives from the NBA family, the NBA said.

The partership also brings together the NBA's FIT campaign encouraging fans to “Be Active, Eat Healthy, Play Together” with Kaiser Permanente’s “Thrive” campaign focused on helping people to maximize their physical, mental and spiritual health. The two organizations will leverage the NBA’s marquee events, community programming and fitness platforms to get out their message.

Among several initiatives the two groups have planned, Kaiser Permanente will serve as the presenting partner of NBA FIT Live Healthy Week, which began Jan. 21 and runs through Jan. 29. Throughout the week, Kaiser Permanente and the NBA will use social media to encourage fans to make a pledge toward healthier living. NBA FIT team member and Kaiser Permanente ambassador Stephen Curry will join the Golden State Warriors on Jan. 26, for a special partnership tip-off event and Get Fit Clinic at an elementary school in Oakland, Calif.

Additionally, Kaiser Permanente will conduct 14 community health and wellness events annually across NBA, WNBA, and NBA D-League markets.

Z Living Cuts Back

Mike Farrell — Fri, 09 Jan 2015 22:15:00 +0000

Several sources have indicated Z Living, the struggling health and wellness-focused programmer, made significant cutbacks today at its U.S. corporate offices in New York City.

The number of the cutbacks could not be independently determined, but sources familiar with the company said that at one point at least 30 people worked at its New York offices.

An e-mail to Z Living’s vice president of marketing Jennifer Villani was returned stating that Friday was her last day at the company. She referred all inquiries to Z Living CEO Gyaneshwar Tewari. He did not immediately return a request for comment.

Z Living has been under fire lately, especially after former marketing chief Michael Snyder filed a discrimination suit against the company in December, claiming management regularly prevented him from performing his duties and fired him because he is a Jewish American. The company also was under investigation by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for discriminatory practices. It could not be determined if that investigation is ongoing.

Z Living, formerly Veria Living, launched in the U.S. in 2007 on EchoStar Communications, now Dish Network. The network, which features programming promoting holistic medicine, yoga and a healthy lifestyle, has found it difficult to gain additional carriage. According to its website, the network is currently available on Cablevision Systems, RCN, FiOS TV, Dish Network, GCI in Alaska and Comcast’s Chicago system. Programming also is available to stream over the Internet via Z Living GO, and free-to-air on digital broadcast stations WSKC-CD in Atlanta, WOCK-CD in Chicago and KSDY-LD in San Diego.

Kent Gibbons contributed reporting to this story.

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