Food Network

World Screen Weekly, February 1, 2007

COUNTRY: U.S.

YEAR IT LAUNCHED: 1993

NUMBER OF SUBSCRIBERS: Nearly 90 million U.S. households

OWNERSHIP: Scripps Networks, a division of The E.W. Scripps Company

DESCRIPTION: Food Network is a lifestyle network and website that strives to surprise and engage its audience with likable hosts and personalities and the variety of things they do with food. The network is committed to exploring new and interesting ways to approach food—through pop culture, adventure and travel—while also expanding its repertoire of technique-based information.

SENIOR VP, THE E. W. SCRIPPS COMPANY &

PRESIDENT, SCRIPPS NETWORKS: John Lansing

SENIOR VP, PROGRAMMING & PRODUCTION,

FOOD NETWORK: Bob Tuschman

PROGRAMMING STRATEGY: Food Network is currently revamping its prime-time offering. Instead of just relying on magazine shows, channel management is finding new formats that integrate more story- and character-driven approaches to the food world. Ace of Cakes is one such show. It’s the channel’s first docu-soap, which debuted in August 2006 and centers on Duff Goldman, the not-so-typical baker. Another show is Throwdown With Bobby Flay, which premiered in July 2006 and features award-winning chefs who are challenged to a one-on-one cook off with the host.

Food Network’s flagship programs include the perennial favorite Good Eats with Alton Brown, a slightly unconventional look at the origin of a range of ingredients, and Rachael Ray’s Tasty Travels, with the channel’s ever-popular superstar. Host Paula Deen has recently found a new prime-time audience with her show Paula’s Party, which originates from Uncle Bubba’s Oyster House in Savannah, Georgia.

“We always have to stay true to the food world,” says Bob Tuschman, the senior VP of programming and production at Food Network. “What differentiates us from our competitors is our personalities, and our audience’s relationship with them. It’s definitely a very competitive landscape in prime time.”

Food Network’s competitors are no longer limited to other cable channels such as Bravo, TLC and A&E. “Our competitors are every other channel because we’re competing for the same prime-time audiences,” explains Tuschman. “Obviously, there’s Bravo’s Top Chef but the [broadcast] networks are also starting to get into food shows, like FOX’s Hell’s Kitchen.”

WHAT’S NEW: On January 12, Food Network premiered Giada’s Weekend Getaways, which features Giada De Laurentiis of Everyday Italian fame as she takes three-day, food-filled trips across the U.S.

Consistent with its new “high entertainment” approach, Food Network also introduced Dinner Impossible, where chef Robert Irvine undergoes culinary challenges every week. “He really doesn’t know what he’s doing until the day he shows up for the shoot, after we sort of kidnap him away,” says Tuschman. Irvine’s upcoming adventures include cooking for 200 wedding guests in a mere 10 hours and feeding 500 cowboys on a cattle ranch. The show made its debut on January 24.

Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives will air in April featuring Guy Fieri, winner of last year’s The Next Food Network Star challenge. Though Fieri previously found success with a Sunday morning cooking show, Guy’s Big Bite, he ups the ante for prime time on Diners, where he explores the nation’s best “retro” restaurants.

“We’re also planning new shows for this coming summer,” says Tuschman. “The airways will be a lot clearer by then.”

Food Network is also working on extending the brand in other areas. The department store chain Kohl’s now sells Food Network products while Target regularly offers Food Network DVDs. Additionally, according to Tuschman, the channel is joining forces with The Taunton Press to publish more Food Network related content. “We’re exploring a lot more opportunities so that we can be positioned as a lifestyle brand that goes far beyond what you watch on TV.”

WEBSITE: www.foodnetwork.com

—By Aarti Jhaveri