Food Network, admit they suck

[Andrew Fenton]

Yes, but after 4am, they re-broadcast something quite original from their road series - "Debbie Does Dallas."

I agree, FN needs to put more hardcore food stuff on their line ups.

Ladies and gentlemen, I believe we have achieved consensus.

[Toliver]

My guess is they had a focus group member that gave them feedback, something along the lines of "Rachel Ray should hit the bricks" and the network tin (they're not good enough to be called "brass" ) misunderstood this to mean their chefs should have traveling cooking shows.

[rconnelly]

and to be honest, the road show I liked the best was "Best of" which of course had no big names and is no longer in production.

[Genny]

Yes, but after 4am, they re-broadcast something quite original from their road series - "Debbie Does Dallas."

I agree, FN needs to put more hardcore food stuff on their line ups.

Ladies and gentlemen, I believe we have achieved consensus.

←

BWAHAHAHAHAHHAHA ROFLMAO!! Thanks Andrew!

[Sararwelch]

I really miss From Martha's Kitchen.

I used to watch the food network constantly. I've reduced my intake to around an hour or two a week. I like the Barefoot Contessa, I watch Sandra Lee for comic value. Sometimes I watch Easy Entertaining with Michael Chiarello, Molto Mario or Boy Meets Grill, but not that often.

I can't stand the travel shows! And have any of you seen Paula's Party? Talk about a train wreck.

[FoodMan]

And have any of you seen Paula's Party? Talk about a train wreck.

You know, her original show (country Kitchen or something), while I never found it informative or inspiring was not bad. Single mom, ownes restaurant, cooks southern country food, makes it big enough to have her own TV show. Not bad.

But that Paula's Party is unbearable and I could never watch a complete episode, not even as background noise. In one word, I think it is DISGUSTING. Her crazy overacted mannerisms and wierd sexual references are seriously sickening. Let's not get into her "tasting" of that stuff she calls food. They are trying to market her as a female Emeril, she tries to act accordingly and it is just sad.

[budrichard]

The standard business plan for all Cable channels is to use max draw/expensive programming until a substantial subscriber base is attained that can provide sustainable revenue. The programming costs are then reduced to maximize profit assuming that the subscriber base is inelastic.-Dick

[Porthos]

The standard business plan for all Cable channels is to use max draw/expensive programming until a substantial subscriber base is attained that can provide sustainable revenue. The programming costs are then reduced to maximize profit assuming that the subscriber base is inelastic.-Dick

←

Does anyone know if the Food Channel was profitable before they started messing with the programming?

I'd love to know if their viewship has fallen off in the last year or if they have successfully (for them - not us) attracted a different demographic that is keeping their ratings up. Since Food Television is a business they will have to rethink the shift if the profits have gone down, but if they're stable or increasing the I think we're left with longing for the good ol' days.

Porthos Potwatcher

The Unrelenting Carnivore

p.s. off topic: I just discovered Cooks Illustrated and I'm going gaga over their style of writing and presentation.

[ChefCarey]

The Griscom & Richman 'Dining Around' show wasn't that good.

←

I respectfully disagree. They were knowledgeable, likable and had a great rapport. I really miss that show even though I didn't always agree with what was said on it and I dined at only a fraction of the restaurants they reviewed.

I just received Richman's new book, Fork It Over, but I haven't had a chance to read it yet.

I do miss the old days of FN, but from what I've read, their numbers are WAY up, so it's hard to argue with their overall business scheme. It's just that we hardcore food lovers aren't a big enough group to swing the numbers in a profitable direction.

=R=

←

Their numbers are up because they are in a lot more markets. The cable companies that at one time wouldn't carry them - Orange County, or at least Yorba Linda did not have them for a long time after I did.

I liked Taste, I also loved John Ash. Curtis Aikens show was another favorite. Mary Jo Esposto's show was way better than Rachel Ray's and had the same premise.

And I can't stand the anorexic-appearing Giada with the head too big for her body. Every time I see her I have horrible visions of what she has to do the maintain that body.....

I also loved the shows that had a guest chef every day, ones that actually cooked something instead of just posturing and promoting a new book.

I remember one show where Marion Cunningham and Alice Waters were talking about teas and foods that go with tea and had some terrific suggestions for sandwiches and etc.

I like Alton Brown and Sara Moulton otherwise I don't bother to watch.

←

Do you mean Mary Ann Esposito?

I've done events- where we all did cooking demos- with both Curtis and Mary Ann and found them both to be good people.

The Food Network has nothing for me. Although if Alton is on when I'm clicking through I'll hang on to see what he's up to.

[ray goud]

The Food Network has evolved into a bunch of shows designed to appeal to 17-25 year old male gamers who have two-minute attention spans, who love super-jittery-close-ups of people putting food in their mouths, all the while uttering "awesome" and "fabulous". That there is ANYTHING of value still on it (Alton?) is an anomoly. We must all wait until those "viewers" lose their patience and move on to something else, before we can hope for any improvement to the FoodTV line-up.

[Gifted Gourmet]

Did anyone read this excerpt from the Michael Ruhlman's blog February 08, 2007 today by Tony Bourdain?

.....  Screaming out loud at Sandra Lee in disbelief as she massacres another dish, then sits grinning, her face stretched into a terrifying rictus of faux cheer for the final triumphant presentation. I mourn for Mario..and Alton...Bobby and yes--even Emeril, nobly holding the fort while the TV empire he helped build crumbles like undercooked Bundt cake into a goo of Cheez Wiz around him.....

...

[eatrustic]

Did anyone read this excerpt from the Michael Ruhlman's blog  February 08, 2007 today by Tony Bourdain?

.....  Screaming out loud at Sandra Lee in disbelief as she massacres another dish, then sits grinning, her face stretched into a terrifying rictus of faux cheer for the final triumphant presentation. I mourn for Mario..and Alton...Bobby and yes--even Emeril, nobly holding the fort while the TV empire he helped build crumbles like undercooked Bundt cake into a goo of Cheez Wiz around him.....

...

←

A truly hilarious take on FN, this is my favourite quote (about Mario B.):

"Relegated to the circus of Iron Chef America, where--like a great, toothless lion, fouling his cage, he hangs on--and on--a major draw (and often the only reason to watch the show)."

That Bourdain boy sho do have a way with words!

[Lateralus]

The Food Network has evolved into a bunch of shows designed to appeal to 17-25 year old male gamers who have two-minute attention spans, who love super-jittery-close-ups of people putting food in their mouths, all the while uttering "awesome" and "fabulous". That there is ANYTHING of value still on it (Alton?) is an anomoly. We must all wait until those "viewers" lose their patience and move on to something else, before we can hope for any improvement to the FoodTV line-up.

←

I disagree. In my opinion I think the target audience are housewives aged from 30-60. It is so water down, cookie cutter programming it is embarassing to me to see the industry represented in the fasion. With the populartiy of the celebrity chef now a days, the exposure that chefs are recieving, more house holds eating out or entertaing, you would think they would have something that represents a true chef driven program or a program with some kind of integrity. Don't get me wrong there are tolerable shows(Emeril/Mario) on Foodnetwork, but the majority are so bad.

Edited February 14, 2007 by Lateralus (log)

[Joisey]

--Did anyone read this excerpt from the Michael Ruhlman's blog February 08, 2007 today by Tony Bourdain?--

Wow, Tony piling on FoodTV personalities? That's fresh.