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It is difficult to be the Fine Living network at a time when more people would likely better relate to a "Barely Scraping By" network.
Perhaps it is understandable, then, that Scripps Networks Interactive Inc. announced it would rebrand Fine Living as the Cooking Channel in the third quarter of 2010. The idea is to make the Cooking Channel to the wildly successful Food Network what DIY Network is to HGTV.
"If you just think about it logically, during a recession, trying to promote something that's going after fine living is probably not going over too well," SNL Kagan analyst Derek Baine said in an interview. "That's a tough market right now."
Cindy McConkey, a spokeswoman for Scripps Networks, told SNL Kagan, however, that the move was motivated less by the weakened economy and instead by the company's desire to capitalize on Food Network's popularity.
"It's really more about a faster pathway to success and greater profitability," she said. "Fine Living was performing about as projected, but this opportunity in the food genre just has such a huge upside that we felt we needed to make this shift to take advantage of it."
Pun possibly intended, McConkey added, "It just seems like there's this insatiable appetite for anything related to cooking and food."
Given the heavy consumer interest -- and perhaps more importantly, the advertiser interest -- that Scripps Networks has seen in the food and cooking categories, McConkey said the company is confident the rebranded channel will not cannibalize on Food Network's...