When you're a cable network and you're only reaching 55 million households and want to reach twice that amount, what do you do? If you're Scripps Networks, you rebrand the channel and give it a new name. That's why Fine Living will become the Cooking Channel in 2010. The way I see this, since Scripps owns the Food Network, the Cooking Channel will be sort of a Food Network annex. Food Network 2.0. Food Network, Two. In actuality, a lot of the programming on Fine Living now is connected to Food Network. Old Iron Chef episodes, Emeril LaGasse and Mario Batali and Wolfgang Puck ... all cooking shows that were once on Food Network.
Now that it's going to drop the Fine Living angle and concentrate on cooking, all the overflow from Food Network will have somewhere to go.
Scripps plans to make the new Cooking Channel a 24-hour network that "caters to avid food lovers by focusing on food information and instructional cooking programming." I know, it sounds a lot like Food Network. The first thing I would like to see on the Cooking Channel is a show for Jeffrey Saad, the runner up on The Next Food Network Star competition last summer. His idea for the spice smuggler might do really well on the new net.
The only negative to this change has nothing to do with us as viewers. Fine Living was based in Knoxville, Tennessee. The new Cooking Channel will be broadcasting out of the Chelsea Market in New York City. That's where Food Network shoots. The two nets will share space and crews and probably talent. Some people in Knoxville will be losing their jobs.
As for Fine Living shows that don't fit into the Cooking Channel format, how much you want to bet the successful ones find a home on HGTV or DIY? Shows like Whatever, Martha! and Three Sheets deserve to keep on going.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
10-09-2009 @ 2:45PM
Seymour said...
I thought they were changing their name so they could show movies and reality shows like all the other networks. A&E (Arts and Entertainment) was a great channel until they started showing so-called "reality" shows and sitcoms. They explained it away by changing their name to The Art of Entertainment so they could cheapen their daily programming. Lots of cable networks are doing this to appease the "dumbing down" of America.
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10-09-2009 @ 2:55PM
RobynM said...
Actually, the change could work if they go with their mission statement.
A lot of foodies have been grousing for the past couple years or so that FN's been shirking their instructional side in favour of entertainment programming, and the FLN reformat could fill that gap.
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10-09-2009 @ 3:17PM
DEBBIE said...
CNN is going to try the same thing. Nobody watches them anymore. They actually get beat by infomercials now. Not to mention PBS in almost every major TV market. I just can't believe how much of a failure CNN has become.
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10-10-2009 @ 11:16AM
Bobby said...
And I can't believe how little effort you put in staying on topic. I love how extremists will use any excuse to rant, regardless of topic. Now go back to OlberHanniLimbKos so you can read/hear/watch more political ideas that you’re incapable of formulating on your own.
10-09-2009 @ 3:42PM
Jenny said...
Didn't Fine Living used to be the network that had all of those Canadian-produced Saturday morning shopping shows? Like "The Shopping Bags"? I LOVED those shows. Lots of product comparisons, shopping finds, and shopping tourism. Once those stopped airing, I stopped watching.
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10-11-2009 @ 4:53PM
stvclk said...
What about Sarah Richardson? I love Design Inc, Room Service and Sarah's house
or Work that Room...where will these shows go?
10-09-2009 @ 4:15PM
davy said...
it should have changed its name from day one if that is the bulk of the television showing to the viewing audience.
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10-09-2009 @ 6:16PM
Jolyne said...
I wish I could get the Fine Living channel. I would love to watch "America's Test Kitchen".
I used to always watch it on PBS until Mediacom took the channel away without warning!!!
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10-11-2009 @ 6:15PM
Debbie said...
I love America's Test Kitchen too...just to let you know the same people are on a newer version called "Cooks Country" which is also on local PBS.
10-09-2009 @ 6:17PM
John F.C. Taylor said...
We don't get FLN. Not that it matters anyway. Watching someone cook is not my idea of being entertained.
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10-09-2009 @ 8:49PM
LINDA said...
WHY THE CHANGE NOW ? I MEAN AFTER SO LONG WE GOT USED TO IT THE WAY IT IS SO AGAIN I ASK WHY CHANGE ????????????????????????
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10-09-2009 @ 8:11PM
alice robinson said...
well, with this economy might as well change their description from "fine living" to "fine living with left overs" but, that may not be a bad idea
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10-11-2009 @ 4:54PM
stvclk said...
What about shows like: Room Service or Design Inc. or Sarah's house. She is a fabulous designer...I never miss her show
or Christopher Lowell. I really enjoy these shows for their instructional value. I can't stand one more Star search show or reality series...
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10-11-2009 @ 5:12PM
MGordon514 said...
I was hoping it was MTV changing it's name. It may still be television, but it long ago ceased to be music.
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10-11-2009 @ 5:22PM
Michele said...
I didn't like it when they changed Court TV to Tru TV, and I didn't like it when they changed the SiFi channel to SyFy. That sounds so dumb.
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10-11-2009 @ 8:38PM
Ryan said...
SyFy sounds dumb? How does it sound any different than SciFi?
10-11-2009 @ 6:00PM
Lydia said...
I don't mind that they are changing the name as long as they don't become commercialized like Food Network. It's not like it used to be, when only legitimate chefs were on there. Now, the FN has all of these people that aren't even real chefs and a lot of them suck.It's not even about the cooking anymore as it is about being entertained. I really don't think there are real chefs over there except Tyler Florence and Bobby Flay.
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10-11-2009 @ 7:51PM
davidk4301 said...
Might as well have a food network channel since there isn't a good one any more. The infamous "Food Network" sucks now, as it's mainly reality crap, like Iron Chef, Cake Challenge, Extreme Cuisine, Food Network Challenge and the like. What a ton of dufus shows. If one want to watch the cooking shows, those are not evening shows, they are daytime shows and few and far between.
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10-11-2009 @ 7:59PM
dee fox said...
one channel for cooking is enough. do not change fln.
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10-11-2009 @ 9:38PM
Dean said...
Never understood why anyone wants to watch someone cook.
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