Scripps

These days, Food Network simply isn't enough to quell viewers' hunger for culinary programming. Last year, Scripps Networks Interactive announced its plans to replace lifestyle channel Fine Living with a new network, The Cooking Channel, debuting in the Fall of 2010. But today, the company revealed that The Cooking Channel will premiere earlier than expected, on Memorial Day, May 31. It has also altered its plans for programming. A release originally stated that the channel would hone in on instructional cooking shows, along with food information and history. But today, Scripps has adapted its programming to include more entertainment TV. Along with some overlap with the Food Network, it's also considering concepts such as a postgame show for The Next Food Network Star.

Programs for 2010 will include new titles such as Rachael Ray's Week in a Day, which focuses on cooking a week's meals all at once; Bobby Flay's Brunch; and Emeril's Fresh Food Fast. It's also bringing on lots of little-known talent from outside the US, like the UK's Ching-He Huang and Canada's Chuck Hughes.

Honestly, it sounds like more of the same — yet I love cooking shows so much that I'm sure I'll tune. What about you?

• Five German beers worth trying. — The Atlantic
• Do you live in Miami or Portland? Get excited because Eater has expanded to those cities. — Eater
• Frank Bruni's memoir Born Round may be turned into a television show. — Grub Street NY
• Learn what Josh Ozersky will be up to now that he has bid the Feedbag adieu. — The Feedbag
• Scripps Networks has acquired the Travel Channel, meaning that the Food Network is back in bed with Anthony Bourdain. — Eat Me Daily
• Must make: creamy corn soup with roasted poblano chili. — Serious Eats
• Everything you need to know about stuffing. — The Epi-Log
• How to stay healthy during the holidays. — Chow

Source: Flickr User Maggie Hoffman

The Food Network will soon be getting a little sister. Yesterday, Scripps Networks Interactive announced it plans to launch another culinary channel next year to replace lifestyle channel Fine Living, or FLN. The new network, to be called the Cooking Channel, will debut in the Fall of 2010.

A third of FLN's programming is already food-related, but according to a release, the new channel will become a 24-hour network focusing on "food information and instructional cooking programming," as well as "food origins, culture, and history."

Scripps, which owns Food Network, Fine Living, HGTV, and DIY networks, certainly seems to be focusing more on food. At the beginning of this week, it publicized plans to expand Food Network to Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. What do you think of the corporation's newest venture? Does it sound redundant — or do you think it will be successful?