A+E Networks Invests in Rachael Ray’s Free Food Studios

A+E Networks has formed a joint venture with Rachael Ray’s Free Food Studios and has made a 50 percent equity investment in the company.

Free Food Studios focuses on producing, owning and distributing “in the kitchen” content created by Ray and serving as a platform for the introduction and development of new and upcoming epicurean talent.

A+E Networks has ordered 278 new episodes of programming over the next two years from Free Food Studios, featuring Ray and other talent, to air in A+E’s Home.Made.Nation lifestyle programming block, FYI and all other platforms. This will be distributed globally by A+E Networks.

All projects produced by Free Food Studios will be executive produced by Ray in addition to Brian Flanagan, Anthony Amoia and Sean Lee.

“A+E Networks continues to partner with leading content creators and talent as we expand our genre-leading Home.Made.Nation lifestyle programming portfolio, and there is no one more synonymous with culinary programming than Rachael Ray and the team at Free Food Studios,” said Rob Sharenow, president of programming at A+E Networks. “The team’s expertise and prowess in developing and producing high-quality content that viewers crave is second to none, and we look forward to working together to bring Rachael and a new crop of talent to A+E Networks and screens around the world across all platforms.”

“Today, I just finished writing over 80 pages of recipes and production notes for my groundbreaking new partnership with A+E Networks. I am so excited for this new chapter of my life to open,” said Ray. “Viewers can expect to see me cooking in both of my homes, in upstate New York and Tuscany, Italy and creating new shows that will feature an amazing group of diverse and unique culinary talents. We have been working on this partnership for some time, and this is just the beginning, so stay tuned.”

“When Sean, Anthony and I started Free Food with Rachael, library ownership and scale were crucial to our collective mission statement,” said Flanagan. “During that same period of time, A+E Networks were great partners in helping us launch Rachael in the home space with Italian Dream Home and Rachael Ray’s Rebuild, so when it came time to scale and distribute our expanding food content library, partnering with A+E made complete sense.”