Imagination TV, which bills itself as the first hosted self-help television network, has announced an agreement with Time Warner Cable under which the network gains a two-hour daily berth on the MSO's systems.
Starting May 9, Imagination TV will begin airing the programming block featuring original series UnCommon Denominator, Cooking for Bachelors 101 and Start-Up Stories. Also included in the ad-supported block are one-on-one interviews with and speeches by self-help advocates, authors and educators.
UnCommon Denominator, hosted by network founder and CEO Steven Samblis and European pop star and former MTV VJ Tamee Harrison, is Imagination TV's first original show. The cohosts interview "the top moguls on the planet to find out what traits they have that are key to their greatness — and how viewers can apply that to their lives," the network said.
"In this $10 billion marketplace, there needs to be an easily-accessible way to discover the best of the best in self-help," Samblis said. "We aim to do that at Imagination TV."
In addition to generating revenue via ad sales -- the network has contracted with WideShot to sell commercial spots -- Imagination TV's shows will also point viewers toward products available on its website, myImaginationtv.com. For example, at the end of the 13-episode series UnCommon Denominator, the company plans to publish a book of the same title, according to reports.
Samblis, a former stockbroker, in 2005 founded the company that eventually became Imagination TV; dubbed IC Places, its aim was to create a network of city-based websites. IC Places refocused and changed its nameto Imagination TV last October. The network is also available online at its own webste and at digital TV platform FilmOn.com.
