The Sunday Times (Business)

Sunday November 29th 2009

ITN man finds perfect fit

Mark Wood, former boss of ITN, the television news provider, is to become chairman of Body in Balance, the pan-European satellite TV station dedicated to health and fitness. The channel, which can reach up to 15m homes, is expanding and will soon be beamed to Turkey and Taiwan. Body in Balance — founded by media veterans John Hall and Greg Roselli — has raised £1.5m over the past year to fund expansion. Wood spent seven years in charge of ITN and prior to that was editor-in-chief of Reuters, the news agency. Body in Balance began life in 2006 as the German TV company Alfra. In 2007, it was merged with its main programme supplier FitonTV, to form Body in Balance. Its programmes focus on disciplines including pilates and yoga, and feature well-known instructors such as Maya Fiennes and Katy Appleton.