Scripps, the company that owns The Food Network, is launching a new cooking channel on Memorial Day (May 31st). The NYT says "It might as well be called Food Network, the Sequel."
The Cooking Channel was announced last fall as a replacement for Fine Living Network. It was supposed to host mostly instructional programming though in recent months Scripps has backpedaled and now says it will be home to the more entertaining programming similar to what's currently seen on The Food Network. New shows with Bobby Flay & Rachel Ray are already in the works. Michael Smith, the general manager of the Cooking Channel, said “We listened to the audience and realized they weren’t necessarily saying they just wanted more instruction or more reality or more travel shows. They just wanted more.”