Food Network
Encyclopedia
Food Network is a television specialty channel
that airs both one-time and recurring (episodic) programs about food and cooking. Scripps Networks Interactive
owns 70 percent of the network, with Tribune Company
controlling the remaining 30 percent.
The network is seen in more than ninety million households. In addition to New York City
, it has offices in Atlanta, Los Angeles
, San Francisco, Chicago
, Detroit, Jersey City, and Knoxville, Tennessee
.
(one of the founders of CNN
), under the direction of Trygve Myrhen, President of The Providence Journal
. Its original partners included the Journal itself, Adelphia, Scripps-Howard, Continental Cablevision, Cablevision, and most importantly, Chicago's Tribune Company
, which provided the network's technical output.
Schonfeld, who was also a partner in the company, was appointed its Managing Director and sat on its management board along with two Providence Journal employees. The original lineup for the network included Emeril Lagasse
(Essence of Emeril
), Debbi Fields
, Donna Hanover
, David Rosengarten
, Curtis Aikens, Dr. Louis Arrone, Jacques Pépin
and Robin Leach
. The next year the network acquired the rights to the Julia Child
library from WGBH
. In 1995, Schonfeld resigned as managing director of the network, but remained on its board until 1998, when he sold his interest in the company to Scripps.
The Food Network had been acquired from the A. H. Belo Corp. Corporation by the E. W. Scripps Company
in 1997, trading KENS-AM
/TV
in San Antonio, Texas
, for it. Belo had acquired the network when it purchased The Providence Journal Company in 1996. Myrhen left the Journal company the following year. In March 2009, the Food Network launched a re-purposed Food.com as a bookmarking site that lets users aggregate and search for recipes from different sources online.
Food Network was first launched internationally in the UK on November 9, 2009, and in Asia on July 5, 2010 (on StarHub TV's Channel 433 and Channel 468 for the HD version of Food Network Asia
). Since the UK launch on November 9, 2009 on Sky, the channel has been added to the Freesat
and Freeview platforms.
coverage known as "Food Network in the Kitchen" and primetime coverage the network calls "Food Network Nighttime". Generally, "In the Kitchen" is dedicated to instructional cooking programs while "Nighttime" features food-related entertainment programs, such as cooking competitions, food-related travel shows, and reality shows. Promos identify "Food Network Nighttime" programming but not daytime programming. Many of the channel's personalities routinely pull double-duty (or more) — hosting both daytime and nighttime programming — and the channel regularly offers specials which typically either follow its personalities on working vacations, or bring together a number of personalities for a themed cooking event.
Mario Batali
and Bobby Flay
joined the network in 1995. In 1996 Joe Langhan, an executive producer at The Food Network, created Emeril Live!
, which became the channel's signature series. Among other duties, Flay and Batali now appear regularly on Iron Chef America
, the channel's well-received remake of the original Japanese series. America's host, Alton Brown
, gained a cult following for his Good Eats
, which mixes science, cooking and offbeat humor. Currently the channel's biggest cross-over star is Rachael Ray
, who has parlayed her cable following (primarily through the series 30 Minute Meals
and $40 a Day
) into a syndicated talk show
.
Beginning in 2005, an annual reality contest, The Next Food Network Star
, has brought viewers to New York to compete for their own show. Previous winners include Dan Smith and Steve McDonagh (Party Line with The Hearty Boys
), Guy Fieri
(Guy's Big Bite
, Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives
, "Guy Off the Hook," "Ultimate Recipe Showdown," "Guy's Big Night," "Guy's Family Feast"), Amy Finley
(The Gourmet Next Door), Aaron McCargo, Jr.
(Big Daddy's House
), Melissa d'Arabian
(Ten Dollar Dinners
) and Aarti Sequeira (Aarti Party). For the 2010 season, the Next Food Network Star has relocated to Los Angeles.
In accordance with an agreement between Scripps and Chellomedia
, Food Network programs started to air abroad in the fourth quarter of 2009 in the United Kingdom and then in other markets in early 2010.
Food Network HD is a 1080i
high definition
simulcast of Food Network. It originally aired a different lineup than the SD version, with only HD programs. On March 31, 2008 Food Network (along with HGTV
) relaunched an HD simulcast
of its standard definition feed. As a result, the programming is now identical on both channels, with upconverted and stretched
versions of standard definition programs being shown when no high definition version is available.
Some cable companies broadcast the HD versions of programming on the east coast time slot (similar to satellite practices) with the SD version being broadcast in its normal timeslot. This only impacts cable networks and does not change local programming.
, a video game for the Wii
console. The game, which was developed by Namco
, simulates real cooking experiences and was released on November 3, 2009. Players can also try out the recipes featured on the game.
and Food Network were removed from Cablevision, a major cable company with systems serving areas surrounding New York City
. Scripps removed HGTV and Food Network from Cablevision's programming following the expiration of their contract on December 31, 2009. Cablevision and Scripps had been in negotiations for several months to agree on a new contract, but no progress had been made and the two stations remained off the air for Cablevision customers. The discontinuance of Food Network from Cablevision led them to make arrangements with Tribune-owned WPIX
in New York and WTXX in Hartford, Connecticut
to carry a special episode of Iron Chef America
with First Lady Michelle Obama
on Sunday, January 10, 2010, after that episode enjoyed high ratings on its January 3 Food Network broadcast.
On January 21, 2010 Cablevision and Scripps came to an agreement and Food Network and HGTV were put back on the air that day.
, HGTV
, DIY Network
and Great American Country
on November 5, 2010; two days later, on November 7, 2010, the dispute was resolved.
business section published an article on the end of Emeril Lagasse's show Emeril Live and quoted Brooke Johnson, the president as saying that Lagasse "remains a valued member of the Food Network family".
Derek Baine, senior analyst at the media research firm SNL Kagan, is reported to have commented, "It's not surprising that people move on". "They pay almost nothing for the people as they are building their careers". "That's been their strategy all along".
The article also commented on the declining popularity of the Food Network whose day ratings it reported had fallen "to an average of 544,000 people from 580,000 a year ago". It noted, "More significant, its signature weekend block of instructional programs, known collectively as 'In the Kitchen,' has lost 15 percent of its audience in the last year, to 830,000 viewers on average. This had left the network owing refunds, known as 'make goods,' to advertisers."
Erica Gruen, former president and CEO of the Food Network (1995–1998) who created Emeril Live during her tenure, was reported to have blamed the decline on increased competition, "There's all sorts of instructional cooking video on the Web".
But it reported that, "Bob Tuschman, Food Network's senior vice president for programming and production, said the weekend ratings drop was 'nothing we haven't anticipated'. He said the network's ratings in that time period grew by double digits in each of the last four years, growth that could not be sustained."
It also wrote, "About a year ago, the Food Network began aggressively trying to change that with new deals that were 'way more onerous' from the stars' point of view, said a person who has been affected by the changing strategy, by insisting on a stake in book deals and licensing ventures, and control over outside activities.
Similar to the departure of Emeril Lagasse was that of David Rosengarten
. In the foreword to his book Taste, Erica Gruen noted that the show had been the very first in-house production at Food Network and had become its most popular show. Yet after her departure at the end of 1998, the show was relegated to a 1:00 am broadcast time resulting in its inevitable drop in ratings and final demise. This strange and, on the surface, contrary to interest conduct by the network has never been explained.
Specialty channel
A specialty channel can be a commercial broadcasting or non-commercial television channel which consists of television programming focused on a single genre, subject or targeted television market at a specific demographic....
that airs both one-time and recurring (episodic) programs about food and cooking. Scripps Networks Interactive
Scripps Networks Interactive
Scripps Networks Interactive is an American media company formed on July 1, 2008 as a spin out of the E.W. Scripps Company. Since launching HGTV in 1994, Scripps has become a leader in lifestyle media, developing relevant content for television, the Internet satellite radio, books, magazines, and...
owns 70 percent of the network, with Tribune Company
Tribune Company
The Tribune Company is a large American multimedia corporation based in Chicago, Illinois. It is the nation's second-largest newspaper publisher, with ten daily newspapers and commuter tabloids including Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Hartford Courant, Orlando Sentinel, South Florida...
controlling the remaining 30 percent.
The network is seen in more than ninety million households. In addition to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, it has offices in Atlanta, Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, San Francisco, Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Detroit, Jersey City, and Knoxville, Tennessee
Knoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
.
History
Food Network was founded on April 19, 1993 as TV Food Network, and launched on November 23 of that year; its legal name is still Television Food Network, G.P. Within a few years, the network had shortened its on-air brand name. It was created by Reese SchonfeldReese Schonfeld
Maurice "Reese" Schonfeld is an American television journalist who was co-founder of CNN and the Food Network.Schonfeld grew up in Newark, New Jersey, graduated from Dartmouth College and received an M.A. and a law degree from Columbia University....
(one of the founders of CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
), under the direction of Trygve Myrhen, President of The Providence Journal
The Providence Journal
The Providence Journal, nicknamed the ProJo, is a daily newspaper serving the metropolitan area of Providence, Rhode Island and is the largest newspaper in Rhode Island. The newspaper, first published in 1829 and the oldest continuously-published daily newspaper in the United States, was purchased...
. Its original partners included the Journal itself, Adelphia, Scripps-Howard, Continental Cablevision, Cablevision, and most importantly, Chicago's Tribune Company
Tribune Company
The Tribune Company is a large American multimedia corporation based in Chicago, Illinois. It is the nation's second-largest newspaper publisher, with ten daily newspapers and commuter tabloids including Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Hartford Courant, Orlando Sentinel, South Florida...
, which provided the network's technical output.
Schonfeld, who was also a partner in the company, was appointed its Managing Director and sat on its management board along with two Providence Journal employees. The original lineup for the network included Emeril Lagasse
Emeril Lagasse
'Emeril John Lagasse is an American celebrity chef, restaurateur, television personality, and cookbook author. A regional James Beard Award winner, he is perhaps most notable for his Food Network shows Emeril Live and Essence of Emeril as well as catchphrases such as “Kick it up a notch!” and...
(Essence of Emeril
Essence of Emeril
Essence of Emeril is a Food Network show hosted by chef Emeril Lagasse.In each episode, Emeril shares with his viewers some of his 'kicked-up' recipes, similar to those on Emeril Live, but with a far calmer demeanor and quieter tone, and usually without the trademark apron that has become his...
), Debbi Fields
Debbi Fields
Debbi Fields is the founder and current spokesperson of Mrs. Fields Bakeries. Additionally, she has written several cookbooks. She currently lives in Memphis, Tennessee, with her husband, former Holiday Inn and Harrah's CEO, Michael Rose...
, Donna Hanover
Donna Hanover
Donna Hanover is an American journalist, radio and television personality, television producer, and actress, who appears on WOR radio in New York City and the Food Network. From 1994 through 2001 she was First Lady of New York City, as the then-wife of Rudy Giuliani...
, David Rosengarten
David Rosengarten
David Rosengarten , the son of Leonard Rosengarten, a garment industry executive, by the former Lorraine Stein, is an American chef, author and television personality, who has hosted more than 2500 television program episodes...
, Curtis Aikens, Dr. Louis Arrone, Jacques Pépin
Jacques Pépin
Jacques Pépin is an internationally recognized French chef, television personality, and author working in the United States. Born in Bourg-en-Bresse, Lyon in France, Pepin was raised by a father and mother who jointly owned a restaurant, where he later credited the start of his love for food. He...
and Robin Leach
Robin Leach
Robin Douglas Leach is an English celebrity writer famous for hosting his first show, Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, in the mid-1980s and into the mid-1990s, which focused on profiling well-known celebrities and their lavish homes, cars and other materialistic endeavors...
. The next year the network acquired the rights to the Julia Child
Julia Child
Julia Child was an American chef, author, and television personality. She is recognized for introducing French cuisine to the American public with her debut cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and her subsequent television programs, the most notable of which was The French Chef, which...
library from WGBH
WGBH-TV
WGBH-TV, channel 2, is a non-commercial educational public television station located in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. WGBH-TV is a member station of the Public Broadcasting Service , and produces more than two-thirds of PBS's national prime time television programming...
. In 1995, Schonfeld resigned as managing director of the network, but remained on its board until 1998, when he sold his interest in the company to Scripps.
The Food Network had been acquired from the A. H. Belo Corp. Corporation by the E. W. Scripps Company
E. W. Scripps Company
The E. W. Scripps Company is an American media conglomerate founded by Edward W. Scripps on November 2, 1878. The company is headquartered inside the Scripps Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. Its corporate motto is "Give light and the people will find their own way."On October 16, 2007, the company...
in 1997, trading KENS-AM
KRDY
KRDY is a radio station broadcasting a Children's Radio format.Licensed to San Antonio, Texas, USA, the station serves the San Antonio area. The station is currently owned by the Walt Disney Company and features programing from Radio Disney....
/TV
KENS-TV
KENS is the CBS affiliate television station in San Antonio, Texas owned and operated by The Belo Corporation. Prior to late April 2010, KENS also managed UPN, later The CW, affiliate station KCWX through a local marketing agreement...
in San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
, for it. Belo had acquired the network when it purchased The Providence Journal Company in 1996. Myrhen left the Journal company the following year. In March 2009, the Food Network launched a re-purposed Food.com as a bookmarking site that lets users aggregate and search for recipes from different sources online.
Food Network was first launched internationally in the UK on November 9, 2009, and in Asia on July 5, 2010 (on StarHub TV's Channel 433 and Channel 468 for the HD version of Food Network Asia
Food Network Asia
Food Network Asia is a television channel that airs both one-time and recurring programs about food and cooking from the Food Network's library as well as commissioned programming developed regionally. Food Network Asia launched July 5, 2010 on StarHub TV Singapore channel 433.The channel is also...
). Since the UK launch on November 9, 2009 on Sky, the channel has been added to the Freesat
Freesat
Freesat is a free-to-air digital satellite television joint venture between the BBC and ITV plc, serving the United Kingdom. The service was formed as a memorandum in 2007 and has been marketed since 6 May 2008...
and Freeview platforms.
Programming
Food Network programming is divided into daytimeDaytime television
Daytime television is the general term for television shows produced that are intended to air during the daytime hours on weekdays. This article is about American daytime television, for information about international daytime television see Daytime television....
coverage known as "Food Network in the Kitchen" and primetime coverage the network calls "Food Network Nighttime". Generally, "In the Kitchen" is dedicated to instructional cooking programs while "Nighttime" features food-related entertainment programs, such as cooking competitions, food-related travel shows, and reality shows. Promos identify "Food Network Nighttime" programming but not daytime programming. Many of the channel's personalities routinely pull double-duty (or more) — hosting both daytime and nighttime programming — and the channel regularly offers specials which typically either follow its personalities on working vacations, or bring together a number of personalities for a themed cooking event.
Mario Batali
Mario Batali is an American chef, writer, restaurateur and media personality. In addition to his classical culinary training, he is an expert on the history and culture of Italian cuisine, including regional and local variations. Batali co-owns restaurants in New York City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles,...
and Bobby Flay
Bobby Flay
Robert William "Bobby" Flay is an American celebrity chef, restaurateur and reality television personality. He is the owner and executive chef of 12 restaurants: Mesa Grill in Las Vegas, New York City, and the Bahamas ; Bar Americain in New York City and Uncasville, Connecticut; Bobby Flay Steak...
joined the network in 1995. In 1996 Joe Langhan, an executive producer at The Food Network, created Emeril Live!
Emeril Live
Emeril Live is a program on The Cooking Channel hosted by Emeril Lagasse. It formerly aired on Food Network and Fine Living.Emeril Live features many of the same elements as Emeril's other program, Essence of Emeril, and often has a Creole theme...
, which became the channel's signature series. Among other duties, Flay and Batali now appear regularly on Iron Chef America
Iron Chef America
Iron Chef America: The Series is an American cooking show based on Fuji Television's Iron Chef, and is the second American adaptation of the series, following the failed Iron Chef USA. The show is produced by Food Network, which also carried a dubbed version of the original Iron Chef. Like the...
, the channel's well-received remake of the original Japanese series. America's host, Alton Brown
Alton Brown
Alton Crawford Brown is an American television personality, author, actor, and cinematographer. He is the creator and host of the Food Network television show Good Eats and the mini-series Feasting on Asphalt and Feasting on Waves, and he is the host and main commentator on Iron Chef America...
, gained a cult following for his Good Eats
Good Eats
Good Eats is a television cooking show created and hosted by Alton Brown which airs in North America on Food Network. Likened to television science educators Mr. Wizard and Bill Nye, Brown explores the science and technique behind the cooking, the history of different foods, and the advantages of...
, which mixes science, cooking and offbeat humor. Currently the channel's biggest cross-over star is Rachael Ray
Rachael Ray
Rachael Domenica Ray is an American television personality, businesswoman, celebrity chef and author. She hosts the syndicated talk and lifestyle program Rachael Ray and three Food Network series, 30 Minute Meals, Rachael Ray's Tasty Travels and $40 a Day...
, who has parlayed her cable following (primarily through the series 30 Minute Meals
30 Minute Meals
30 Minute Meals is a Food Network show hosted by Rachael Ray. Her first of four shows on Food Network debuted in the fall of 2001. The show specializes in convenience cooking for those with little time to cook. The show is recorded live-to-tape, with Ray doing almost all preparation in real time...
and $40 a Day
$40 a Day
$40 a Day is a Food Network show hosted by Rachael Ray. In each episode, Rachael takes a one-day trip to an American or European city with only US$40 to spend on food...
) into a syndicated talk show
Rachael Ray (TV series)
Rachael Ray, also known as The Rachael Ray Show, is a talk show starring Rachael Ray that debuted in syndication in the United States and Canada on September 18, 2006....
.
Beginning in 2005, an annual reality contest, The Next Food Network Star
The Next Food Network Star
The Next Food Network Star is a reality television series produced by and aired on the Food Network in the United States that awards the winner his or her own series on the Food Network...
, has brought viewers to New York to compete for their own show. Previous winners include Dan Smith and Steve McDonagh (Party Line with The Hearty Boys
Party Line with The Hearty Boys
Party Line with The Hearty Boys was a Food Network show hosted by real-life gay couple Dan Smith and Steve McDonagh . Smith and McDonagh launched the show after winning the network's reality contest, The Next Food Network Star, which granted them a six-show Food Network series...
), Guy Fieri
Guy Fieri
Guy Fieri is an American restaurateur, author, television personality, and game show host. He co-owns five restaurants in California and is widely known for his television series on the Food Network....
(Guy's Big Bite
Guy's Big Bite
Guy's Big Bite is a Food Network show starring Guy Fieri, winner of the second season of The Next Food Network Star. The inaugural six-episode season premiered on June 25, 2006 in the 10:00 am/EST timeslot. Currently Guy's Big Bite airs Sundays at 11am EST/PST.Food Network renewed the series after...
, Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives
Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives
Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives is an American food television series that premiered in November 2006 on the Food Network. Produced by Page Productions, the program stars and is hosted by Guy Fieri...
, "Guy Off the Hook," "Ultimate Recipe Showdown," "Guy's Big Night," "Guy's Family Feast"), Amy Finley
Amy Finley
Amy Finley is a cook and writer who was the winner of the third season of The Next Food Network Star and was thus awarded a commitment to host a cooking show on the Food Network...
(The Gourmet Next Door), Aaron McCargo, Jr.
Aaron McCargo, Jr.
Aaron McCargo, Jr. is an American chef from Camden, New Jersey. He is best known as the winner of the fourth season of the Food Network's reality television show, The Next Food Network Star....
(Big Daddy's House
Big Daddy's House
Big Daddy's House is a cooking show on the American specialty channel Food Network. The show stars Aaron McCargo, Jr., the winner of the fourth season of the network's reality television series, The Next Food Network Star. The six-episode first season was McCargo's grand prize for winning the...
), Melissa d'Arabian
Melissa d'Arabian
Melissa Donovan d'Arabian is an American television personality from Tucson, Arizona. She is best known for being the winner of the fifth season of The Next Food Network Star, and is the host of Food Network's Ten Dollar Dinners....
(Ten Dollar Dinners
Ten Dollar Dinners
Ten Dollar Dinners is a television program hosted by Melissa d'Arabian. It debuted August 9, 2009 at 12:30 PM EST. Melissa d'Arabian is the winner of the fifth season of The Next Food Network Star....
) and Aarti Sequeira (Aarti Party). For the 2010 season, the Next Food Network Star has relocated to Los Angeles.
In accordance with an agreement between Scripps and Chellomedia
Chellomedia
Chellomedia, the European content division of Liberty Global, is a leading international media company & distributor of channels, content and video services. The division’s operating companies and business units currently own and operate 45 branded TV channels and run a suite of digital, on demand...
, Food Network programs started to air abroad in the fourth quarter of 2009 in the United Kingdom and then in other markets in early 2010.
Food Network HD
1080i
1080i is the shorthand name for a high-definition television mode. The i means interlaced video; 1080i differs from 1080p, in which the p stands for progressive scan. The term 1080i assumes a widescreen aspect ratio of 16:9, implying a frame size of 1920×1080 pixels...
high definition
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
simulcast of Food Network. It originally aired a different lineup than the SD version, with only HD programs. On March 31, 2008 Food Network (along with HGTV
HGTV
HGTV , is a cable-television network operating in the United States and Canada, broadcasting a variety of home and garden improvement, maintenance, renovation, craft and remodeling shows...
) relaunched an HD simulcast
Simulcast
Simulcast, shorthand for "simultaneous broadcast", refers to programs or events broadcast across more than one medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at the same time. For example, Absolute Radio is simulcast on both AM and on satellite radio, and the BBC's Prom concerts are often...
of its standard definition feed. As a result, the programming is now identical on both channels, with upconverted and stretched
Stretch-o-Vision
Stretch-o-Vision is a neologism used to describe the practice of upconverting video from a standard aspect ratio to a widescreen aspect ratio. HDTV programming is broadcast in the 16:9 aspect ratio, a widescreen image. However, most SDTV programming is usually broadcast in the 4:3 aspect ratio....
versions of standard definition programs being shown when no high definition version is available.
Some cable companies broadcast the HD versions of programming on the east coast time slot (similar to satellite practices) with the SD version being broadcast in its normal timeslot. This only impacts cable networks and does not change local programming.
Food Network video game
Food Network has released Cook or Be CookedFood Network: Cook or Be Cooked
Food Network: Cook or Be Cooked! is a cooking simulation-styled minigame compilation developed by Red Fly Studio and published by Bandai Namco Games...
, a video game for the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
console. The game, which was developed by Namco
Namco
is a Japanese corporation best known as a former video game developer and publisher. Following a merger with Bandai in September 2005, the two companies' game production assets were spun off into Namco Bandai Games on March 31, 2006. Namco Ltd. was re-established to continue domestic operation of...
, simulates real cooking experiences and was released on November 3, 2009. Players can also try out the recipes featured on the game.
Dispute with Cablevision
On January 1, 2010 HGTVHGTV
HGTV , is a cable-television network operating in the United States and Canada, broadcasting a variety of home and garden improvement, maintenance, renovation, craft and remodeling shows...
and Food Network were removed from Cablevision, a major cable company with systems serving areas surrounding New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Scripps removed HGTV and Food Network from Cablevision's programming following the expiration of their contract on December 31, 2009. Cablevision and Scripps had been in negotiations for several months to agree on a new contract, but no progress had been made and the two stations remained off the air for Cablevision customers. The discontinuance of Food Network from Cablevision led them to make arrangements with Tribune-owned WPIX
WPIX
WPIX, channel 11, is a television station in New York City built, signed on, and owned by the Tribune Company. WPIX also serves as the flagship station of The CW Television Network...
in New York and WTXX in Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
to carry a special episode of Iron Chef America
Iron Chef America
Iron Chef America: The Series is an American cooking show based on Fuji Television's Iron Chef, and is the second American adaptation of the series, following the failed Iron Chef USA. The show is produced by Food Network, which also carried a dubbed version of the original Iron Chef. Like the...
with First Lady Michelle Obama
Michelle Obama
Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama is the wife of the 44th and incumbent President of the United States, Barack Obama, and is the first African-American First Lady of the United States...
on Sunday, January 10, 2010, after that episode enjoyed high ratings on its January 3 Food Network broadcast.
On January 21, 2010 Cablevision and Scripps came to an agreement and Food Network and HGTV were put back on the air that day.
Dispute with AT&T
AT&T U-verse dropped Food Network, Cooking ChannelCooking Channel
Cooking Channel is a television specialty channel that airs recurring programs about food and cooking, owned by Scripps Networks Interactive. It is a spinoff of Food Network, also owned by SNI, but focuses more on instructional shows rather than "reality style" and contest programming that Food...
, HGTV
HGTV
HGTV , is a cable-television network operating in the United States and Canada, broadcasting a variety of home and garden improvement, maintenance, renovation, craft and remodeling shows...
, DIY Network
DIY Network
DIY Network is a channel owned by Scripps Networks Interactive that focuses on do it yourself projects at home.Television stations air local versions with local hosts with segments produced by the network. Branded DIY Network programming is also broadcast in Japan and the Philippines...
and Great American Country
Great American Country
Great American Country , is a Nashville, Tennessee-based country music cable television network.-History:The station launched December 31, 1995 and Garth Brooks' video "The Thunder Rolls" was the first video to air on GAC....
on November 5, 2010; two days later, on November 7, 2010, the dispute was resolved.
Media comment
In December 2007 The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
business section published an article on the end of Emeril Lagasse's show Emeril Live and quoted Brooke Johnson, the president as saying that Lagasse "remains a valued member of the Food Network family".
Derek Baine, senior analyst at the media research firm SNL Kagan, is reported to have commented, "It's not surprising that people move on". "They pay almost nothing for the people as they are building their careers". "That's been their strategy all along".
The article also commented on the declining popularity of the Food Network whose day ratings it reported had fallen "to an average of 544,000 people from 580,000 a year ago". It noted, "More significant, its signature weekend block of instructional programs, known collectively as 'In the Kitchen,' has lost 15 percent of its audience in the last year, to 830,000 viewers on average. This had left the network owing refunds, known as 'make goods,' to advertisers."
Erica Gruen, former president and CEO of the Food Network (1995–1998) who created Emeril Live during her tenure, was reported to have blamed the decline on increased competition, "There's all sorts of instructional cooking video on the Web".
But it reported that, "Bob Tuschman, Food Network's senior vice president for programming and production, said the weekend ratings drop was 'nothing we haven't anticipated'. He said the network's ratings in that time period grew by double digits in each of the last four years, growth that could not be sustained."
It also wrote, "About a year ago, the Food Network began aggressively trying to change that with new deals that were 'way more onerous' from the stars' point of view, said a person who has been affected by the changing strategy, by insisting on a stake in book deals and licensing ventures, and control over outside activities.
Similar to the departure of Emeril Lagasse was that of David Rosengarten
David Rosengarten
David Rosengarten , the son of Leonard Rosengarten, a garment industry executive, by the former Lorraine Stein, is an American chef, author and television personality, who has hosted more than 2500 television program episodes...
. In the foreword to his book Taste, Erica Gruen noted that the show had been the very first in-house production at Food Network and had become its most popular show. Yet after her departure at the end of 1998, the show was relegated to a 1:00 am broadcast time resulting in its inevitable drop in ratings and final demise. This strange and, on the surface, contrary to interest conduct by the network has never been explained.
See also
- List of programs broadcast by the Food Network
- Food Network (Canada)
- List of Dish Network channels
- List of DirecTV channels
- The Food Network AwardsThe Food Network AwardsThe Food Network Awards are a United States television production awards ceremony, focused on giving awards to chefs, cities, restaurants, and other notable food related institutions....