Wellness and the pursuit of it has become a global phenomenon. One network, Z Living, has put itself in a strong position to capitalize on that trend.

Thursday marked Z Living’s official transition from its former moniker, Veria Living. Z Living is managed and distributed by Asia TV USA Ltd.

The decision to rebrand the network was based on aligning the health and wellness network with its largest programming affiliate and worldwide distribution partner, Zee Entertainment, which reaches more than 730 million viewers across 169 countries. Under the expansion, Z Living’s linear channel will now be seen as a linear channel in Russia, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and the Caribbean. By year’s end, it will appear on every continent except Antarctica.

As Veria, the channel has been one of the more vocal of the smaller independent cable networks worried about procuring distribution under the proposed Comcast-Time Warner Cable merger. It’s currently carried in the U.S. by Dish Network, Cablevision Systems, Verizon FiOS TV, GCI in Alaska, RCN and some smaller independent distributors, but has not found carriage on major providers such as Comcast and DIRECTV. As Z Living, it can now tap into an international viewership many times larger than its stateside audience.

“There are few bigger brands on a global basis than Z,” said Eric Sherman, CEO of Z Living. “As we expand globally, it was the perfect time to exploit and maximize our affiliation with the Z name.”

In preparing to bring its raft of lifestyle programming to a new cross-cultural viewership, Sherman said that Z “had to revise our programming strategy to entertain first and inform second.” As an example, when the network’s flagship daily afternoon show The Juice launched earlier this year, “it didn’t start the first episode with the latest medical news on a certain condition,” said Sherman. Instead, the show’s cast, which combines trained professionals such as women’s health expert Dr. Evelyn Minaya with entertainers like the comedian Chuck Nice, riffed on celebrity gossip, current events and other matters before easing into topics of the body and mind.

“When people watch television, whether it’s a health and wellness show on [Z Living] or Storage Wars on A&E, they’re watching to be entertained,” said Sherman. “You have to draw people in with things they expect from television, and then bring up a great recipe that happens to be healthy… or a great new exercise program that’s cool and fun.”

A good portion of Z Living’s programming – not surprisingly given its origins – is Eastern-themed but always with that twist of broad entertainment. Yogapalooza, for instance, brings the ancient form of breath-focused movement to kids with a colorful set, pop-laden songs and a weekly trip to “the mindfulness garden” for a lesson designed to enhance self-awareness and encourage every kid to be the best they can be. Elsewhere on the lineup, BollyBlast (pictured at top) is a Bollywood-themed dance workout with charismatic fitness expert Hemalayaa Behl. Sports Dads with host Deion Sanders takes an in-depth look at families trying to raise superstar athletes.

Wellness programming is particularly apt for the digital space, where it’s important to create programming that can be broken down into bite-sized chunks for distribution across the Web, mobile devices and beyond. To that end, Thursday’s launch of Z Living ushered in a revamped website for the company, featuring a health news desk, recipes, workout videos and articles on everything from better sex to weight loss. The website will also include a video on-demand subscription service, Z Living GO.

In bringing these offerings to a wider audience, Z Living isn’t rocking the boat. “Veria Living is well-liked and has a very engaged viewer base,” said Jennifer Villani, VP of marketing for Z Living. “Our brand is growing up, not changing… and it’s important to us that our viewers understand that.”

To that end, the Veria Living logo has retained its autumnal reds, oranges and yellows, but morphed shapes and fonts to incorporate the Z Living brand.

“The new logo, like the old, needed to represent a life cycle,” said Villani.

Additionally, a recurring on-air promo on Veria Living has been showcasing the Z Living brand while working “to reassure viewers that the programming they love and have come to count on is not changing, and that the network’s overall programming philosophy is staying consistent with the vision we have had under the Veria name,” she said.

Perhaps most importantly, the network has, as the name suggests, been practicing what it preaches out in the real world, with an array of sponsorships that include the Wanderlust Festival, a traveling bonanza of yoga teachers, musical acts, speakers, chefs and other performers that has become one of the movement’s most high-profile events. With upcoming destinations including Austin, Oahu, Whistler and beyond, the festival is, in a sense, the physical embodiment of the Z Living brand, aiming to bring its alternative modes of health and wellness to a widespread audience.

“At the end of the day, the focus on health and wellness is not something that’s just big in the US,” said Sherman. “It’s truly a global movement.”

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