ITV has agreed to invest up to £3 million in health and fitness app The Body Coach, created by Joe Wicks, who became famous for get people to exercise in their living rooms during the Covid pandemic.
This is the latest deal concluded through the group's media for the equity investment fund. ITV AdVentures Invest. As part of the agreement, The Body Coach will advertise across ITV channels and the ITVX video platform.
Weeks launched the app in late 2020, capitalizing on the fame he gained during Covid-19 restrictions when he broadcast videos of daily workouts online. It offers personalized workout plans, as well as a range of healthy recipes and access to an online group to keep users motivated.
A TV advert for the app will appear on ITV on 1 January and will air during ad breaks during the show hosted by Joe Wicks on ITV1 and ITVX.
The announcement comes at a challenging time for ITV and other public broadcastersWeeks after US media company Comcast, which already owns Sky, began talks to buy ITV's broadcast business.
Comcast bought Rupert Murdoch's Sky for £30 billion in 2018 and also owns assets including Universal Studios.
The talks have raised concerns about the future of news delivery in the UK at a time when traditional broadcasters face an existential threat as audiences and revenues shift to streaming services such as Amazon and Amazon. Netflix and global digital companies such as Meta and Google.
Weeks said: “When I started my training courses at the park over 12 years ago, I never imagined that The Body Coach would grow into a brand reaching millions of people.”
He said the partnership with ITV will allow him to “bring a positive, supportive message of health and wellbeing into millions of homes at a time when people need it most”.
Fitness and Nutrition Specialist was previously turned into animation as part of a collaboration with AKA Studio, which produces the children's series Hey Dougie, to create five-minute workout videos for children.
ITV launched the AdVentures Invest program in 2021 to allow the broadcaster to acquire minority stakes in early-stage digital and direct-to-consumer businesses, along with venture capital investment, in return for advertising on ITV channels. The project aims to help consumer businesses scale up through television advertising.
The broadcaster has previously invested in online estate agent Strike, which trades under the Purplebricks brand, furniture price comparison site ufurnish.com and location app What3words.
