Food Network Cooking Shows - who is their target a... - Page 6

Spurt · ‎03-20-2010

@chickenbutt wrote:
Terrier always provides excellent fact-based information.

I still watch numerous shows on the FN. I figure it this way - everything is not for everybody. Things change. Things evolve. Some will always feel the must cling to the old (I absolutely DO understand that - to a point) and some will be happy for change, or evolution, of things.

I've said this before. I say it because it's true. Everything is not about me. It never was, and it never will be.

I just find stuff I like and go from there.

We only get FN and The Cooking Channel. That other one mentioned sounds interesting but our cable doesn't offer it in this market so I've never seen it.

I can understand the desire to see just straight-up cooking shows. There are still some of those. But they HAVE to sell whatever people are buying. Variety is one of those things. I would imagine that the majority, by a large stretch, is just not interested in 100% straight-up cooking shows. So they provide a variety of that, entertaining cooking shows, competitions, etc.

I remember watching FN way back and enjoyed SOME of the cooking shows. But there really was not much variety. I do tend to like variety. I'm in the far end (age-wise) of their demographic, FWIW.

@chickenbutt They don't provide a variety......During the week prime time it's Guy Diners, Driveins, Dives.....on weekends prime time its contest time!! Whats the result...

Network’s Nielsen ratings were down 10% in 2010 and it lost 16% of its key 18-49 primetime audience in 2013 vs. 2012), and for 2015 an additional 8.5% ...which prompted the thedailymeal.com to take a closer look at its ratings from 2000 to 2014. The findings suggests the culinary behemoth may have lost its bite.

And another big problem was FN wanted a cut in on the deal that some of their chefs got with deals outside the network like their cookware, book deals etc etc....and some of the chefs didnt like that....

Animals are reliable, full of love, true in their affections, grateful. Difficult standards for people to live up to.”

Mothertrucker · ‎01-30-2015

I''ve been watchinga longlong time..Backto 1996 when my favorite show was Dr Lou Arrone and his call in program, specializing inweight loss.

Donna Hanover, then Mrs Rudy Giuliani, ohosted ashow called In Food Today..Bobby Flay was on Grillin and Chillin, with Jack McDvid, thenlater Hot off the Grill with a female red headed co-host.

There was Sarah Moulton, loved her, and lots of actual cooking shows, there was Nathalie Dupree, and a very young Aaron Sanchez with his Mom...

there was an actual food game show, wiht questions and answers..dont remember it very well, and the acutal Iron Chef, which was Japanese in those days...very camp..

I liked a lot of it then, I like some of it now...Dontfind watching people decorate cakes veryinteresting, and Alton Brown seems so evil on the ridiculous cutthroat kitchen, though I loved his "Good Eats" show...

They made a well ubicized and bold move a few years ago to gad male vierers by adding more and more "competition " shows, but I am burned out on most of them.. and also on their self promotion "Next Food Network Star..only a ocuple have gone on to anything notable...

All in all, things change, people change, demographics change ..nothing stays the same..When I was growing up, here in Los Angels, we had 1/2 hour of local news and then one half hour of National news "Huntley and Brinkley" at night... who would have thought, that today some local channels have 3 HOURS of news before the 1/2 hour national show..and there are many 24 hour news channels...???

One thing we fdefitely hav eon TV today is variety..if there is something on that I dont like, there is always another channel with somethig I DO...

AND...I dont have to turn the dial all the way around to get to get from channel 5 back to Channel 4 anymore!LOL!

Mothertrucker · ‎01-30-2015

Oh, and I almost forgot...Giada's smile? it seems weird because she shows her bottom teeth when she smiles..very few people do that..

And hey I DO smile a lot!

joannecha · ‎04-06-2010

If they would actually teach you cooking skills or give meal ideas, that would be great. I agree that it's all turned into their version of reality TV. My local PBS station has a series called "Martha Bakes" so I tape that. I get most of my recipe ideas now from Pinterest or baking clues from King Arthur Flour.

house_cat · ‎03-09-2010

@Mothertrucker wrote:
Oh, and I almost forgot...Giada's smile? it seems weird because she shows her bottom teeth when she smiles..very few people do that..

And hey I DO smile a lot!

THAT'S IT! I couldn't put my finger on it, but you nailed it. Granted, she's a beautiful girl, but that smile has recently begun to irritate me.

~ house cat ~

Irshgrl31201 · ‎03-18-2010

I actually used to really love watching the FN, now I hate most of the shows on now. I like Barefoot Contessa, Pioneer Woman, used to like Paula when she was on, Bobby Flay, Giada. I even like Diners Drive Ins and Dives with Guy Fieri though I cannot stand his other shows. I really dislike the path they have taken with all the competition shows like Cupcake Wars, Donut Showdown, Chopped, Guys Grocery Games and that completely ridiculous show that Alton Brown does called Cutthroat Kitchen. I cannot stand the show where they pick the new Food Network Star either.

I like the premise of Chopped but they give them ridiculous ingredients to use most of the time. I don't need to see recipes I would make, that doesn't bother me as I watched Paula Deen and most of the stuff she made I wasn't interested in but they give the contestants on Chopped and some of these shows stupid ingredients like grasshoppers, fruit loops, brains, emu eggs. I mean come on, the average American isn't eating stuff like this. I also happen to eat a lot of different type of foods and I am not afraid to try almost anything but I would not want to be a judge on that show with some of the crazy ingredients they give them.

I did like Good Eats with Alton Brown because I enjoyed learning about the science of food but the goofiness of that show I could totally do without. It added nothing to it and I feel he looked foolish most of the time with those little skits.

I liked when they actually had shows and not all these competitions. Were they set up like Ina having a party for this or making her friend Michael the florist his favorite dinner? Yes, but it was still more interesting that the competition shows and people do actually do that in real life. I like when Ree Drummond shows what she does on her farm, I find it interesting because I know nothing of that lifestyle. I like watching what Ina and Giada cook because they cook a lot of things I am interested in but it doesn't bother me a bit to see stuff being made that I might not be interested in, I like the variety.

Food Network has really been scraping the bottom of the barrel with their programming the last couple of years.

Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.
JFK

Nataliesgramma · ‎03-28-2015

I liked watch Trisha Yearwood on Sunday mornings. I miss the old shows where they actaully COOKED....

DCAnnie2004 · ‎03-15-2010

A lot of the cooking shows are on during the day. Most debut a new episode on Saturday. I just counted 10 half-hour blocks (5 hours total) of cooking today.

It makes sense that they need faster-paced competition shows in prime time. I still enjoy some of them when I watch. I'm enjoying Kids Baking Championship - I like Duff and Valerie and the kids are super talented. They also say things that make me laugh.

TV has changed a lot - most of us now have 100+ channels to choose from.

PamelaSue72 · ‎09-22-2011

I can't tell you when the last time was that I actually sat down to watch anything on Food Network....it's gone downhill IMO. DH and I used to watch Good Eats faithfully and I was a big Alton fan. (His poster from the first Good Eats book is hanging on my wall at work) I really enjoyed watching Ina Garten, too; she was calm in the kitchen (if a bit on the snobby side). And honestly? I liked watching Emeril Live sometimes, too. I still make a lot of their recipes, because they were, and still are, really good recipes. I still make up a batch of Emeril's Rustic Rub, simply because we use it very often....it's an excellent rub for many meats and I will often just sprinkle some in a stew or a pot roast. It's good stuff.

But now it seems that every time I surf past FN, it's either something with Guy (who is simply ridiculous) or Chopped or some kind of food contest show. I always watched FN because I could learn something, whether it was about a new spice or a way to cook. Or find an interesting recipe to try. What am I going to learn from a food contest show? How to cook something really fast? If FN was looking to get rid of actual people who cook watching their shows, they did a great job. From what I understand, many, many people are unhappy with FN and have gone elsewhere.

I watch the shows on Create now. America's Test Kitchen, Cook's Country, Martha Bakes. They're interesting shows and I like them. When we get Starz (when Outlander comes on, we get Starz for the season it's showing), then I get the Cooking Channel. And I watch some of the older shows.