"It’s very revolutionary," stated Jonathan Levine. A simple statement, yet very powerful. And that’s the impact DrTV can have on your health care facility.Levine is vice president of business development for DTV America, the company that is launching local DrTV Channels throughout the country. He explained that this "revolution" is about a television station that will give hospitals and health organizations an opportunity to market themselves. "DrTV is a 24/7 local television station that’s going to be dedicated to health care," he said. And the major opportunity for a hospital or other healthcare entity, is that they will establish themselves as the only healthcare entity in their market with a dedicated TV Station!”
And what makes this channel unique is that unlike closed circuit networks that can only be seen within the hospital, physician practices, rehab centers, etc.; DrTV can be viewed at home by patients and prospective patients, as it will be available as a local television channel.
In the market, DrTV wouldn’t be known by that name, but rather branded with the name of the hospital or healthcare entity. For example – as the “ABC Hospital” Channel, and the hospital would be able to include its own programming to run at select times. To further clarify, Irwin Podhajser, SVP of Broadcast Operations for DTV America explained, "Think of it like NBC. There is a local NBC affiliate channel that airs in West Palm Beach, but that’s not the national channel based in New York. We will air 24/7 programming on both a national level, and on a local level, and this enables the hospital to replace some of this national programming being aired with its own local spots. For instance, if the hospital has an exceptional oncology department, it will be able to highlight that service and feature the oncologists and their team for a half-hour or hour-long spot."
In addition to individual programming, DrTV offers what is called “Health Minutes,” which are one-minute spots that are similar to a commercial. These “Health Minutes” could be an exercise you can do to help with a particular health issue, a suggestion to start your day with this type of nutritional shake, or a health condition. And as the “Health Minute” is closing, the announcer will state that this was brought to you by ABC Hospital or a sponsor. And the logo for ABC Hospital, if that’s whose channel it is, would appear at the bottom of the screen.
The exclusivity afforded to ABC Hospital extends to the type of health care entities or the kind of programming that will be aired. As Levine explained, as local health care providers learn about the channel, they may approach ABC Hospital and inquire regarding becoming a sponsor or advertiser on the channel. If the hospital agrees, then the providers would work with the hospital, and the hospital would work with DrTV to develop a spot and/or have them recognized as a sponsor. DrTV will assist the providers and the hospital to be able to air the programming. Levine stated, “Whatever they need, we will help them to make sure it’s as seamless as possible. If they’re running commercial time, we have commercials that are already in play, and they can be easily modified say that it was brought to you by this specific sponsor and just simply insert their logo."
Levine used ABC Hospital as an example, but wanted to emphasize that while DrTV is offered exclusively in each market, it is available to health care entities other than hospitals. "We’re typically targeting health care organizations. Our primary market is the hospital, but we are not limiting this to any particular type.” Others that have expressed initial interest in having their own local TV station are assisted living facilities, home health companies, large physician practices, insurance carriers, skilled nursing facilities, home medical equipment companies, home nursing agencies, retirement communities, and others.
Irwin Podhajser stated, “DTVAmerica realizes the healthcare industry needs to be able to market itself in different ways, and this is the first time that any hospital has ever been able to have its own 24/7 dedicated local television channel that will be soley and exclusively theirs and the only one in their market.” Levine added, “How many hospitals can say they have a channel, a real, local, 24/7 channel that will be seen within their market?”
Sounds revolutionary, doesn’t it?
