Cooking Channel is an American

basic cable Cable television first became available in the United States in 1948. By 1989, 53 million American households received cable television subscriptions, with 60 percent of all U.S. households doing so in 1992. A 2021 Pew Research Center survey found ...

channel owned by and spin-off of

Food Network Food Network is an American basic cable channel owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a unit of Warner Bros. Discovery, who manages and operates it as a division of the Warner Bros. Discovery U.S. Networks Group. The channel airs both televi ...

. Both are owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...

and general partnership between

Warner Bros. Discovery Networks Warner can refer to: People * Warner (writer) * Warner (given name) * Warner (surname) Fictional characters * Yakko, Wakko, and Dot Warner, stars of the animated television series ''Animaniacs'' * Aaron Warner, a character in '' Shatter M ...

(69%) and

Nexstar Media Group Nexstar Media Group, Inc. is an American publicly traded media company with headquarters in Irving, Texas, Midtown Manhattan, and Chicago. The company is the largest television station owner in the United States, owning 197 television station ...

(31%). The channel broadcasts programming related to food and cooking. Cooking Channel is available via traditional

Cable Television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with bro ...

as well as

Discovery+ Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discov ...

since January 2021. , Cooking Channel is available to approximately 34,000,000 pay television households in the United States-down from its 2016 peak of 66,000,000 households. Along with

American Heroes Channel American Heroes Channel (formerly Military Channel and originally Discovery Wings Channel) is an American multinational pay television television network, channel owned by the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks unit of Warner Bros. Discovery. The ...

Boomerang A boomerang () is a thrown tool typically constructed with airfoil sections and designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight, designed to return to the thrower. The origin of the word is from Australian Aborigin ...

Destination America Destination America is an American cable television channel owned by the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks unit of Warner Bros. Discovery. The network carries programming focused on the culture of the United States—including food, lifestyles, a ...

Discovery Family Discovery Family (known on-air as Discovery Family Channel and abbreviated as DFC) is an American Specialty channel, cable television channel co-owned by The Cartoon Network, Inc. and Hasbro Entertainment, which are divisions of Warner Bros. Di ...

Discovery Life Discovery Life is an American cable television network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched on February 1, 2011 as Discovery Fit & Health, it was the result of the merger of the Discovery Health Channel and FitTV, following the former's ...

, and

Science Channel Science Channel (often simply branded as Science; abbreviated to SCI) is an American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The channel features programming focusing on science related to wilderness survival, engineering, manu ...

, Cooking Channel is among the less prevalent networks of Warner Bros. Discovery. In recent years, Cooking Channel has lost carriage with the growth of streaming alternatives including its parent company's

Max Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (American dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (British dog), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of the OBE) * Max (gorilla) ...

, and has generally been depreciated by Warner Bros. Discovery in current retransmission consent negotiations with cable and streaming providers.

History

As Fine Living

The channel was announced by Scripps in 2001 and launched the following year as Fine Living (later Fine Living Network, FLN). The brand was positioned towards high-income viewers "who want guidance in helping spend their free time", and featured a mix of lifestyle- and leisure-themed programming dealing with topics such as travel and adventure, finance, real estate, "everyday pursuits", and technology. Scripps positioned Fine Living as a multi-platform brand, having launched a companion website, and purchasing a 49% stake in a free-circulation magazine that would be co-branded with the channel. Scripps planned to invest $100 million in original programming for Fine Living. The network was launched on August 21, 2002. In 2007, Fine Living acquired primetime encores of the syndicated series ''

The Martha Stewart Show ''Martha'', also known as ''The Martha Stewart Show'', is an American cooking show hosted by Martha Stewart. The series premiered on September 12, 2005, in Broadcast syndication, syndication until it was picked up by the Hallmark Channel in Septe ...

''. The network later added ''Whatever, Martha!'', a series featuring her daughter Alexis Stewart and Jennifer Hutt comedically riffing over footage from ''

Martha Stewart Living ''Martha Stewart Living'' is a magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), ...

''.

As Cooking Channel

In October 2009, Scripps Networks Interactive announced that Fine Living would be relaunched as Cooking Channel in 2010, after the

Great Recession The Great Recession was a period of market decline in economies around the world that occurred from late 2007 to mid-2009.

and a severe decline in American personal income and spending effectively stunted Fine Living Network from any further ratings or programming expansion. The network would be a spin-off of

oriented towards instructional and personality-based programming, which had been largely displaced by the growth of Food Network's reality and competition programming. The network airs both new series, and archived programming from Food Network. Cooking Channel launched on May 31, 2010 (coinciding with the

Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. It is observed on the last Monday of May. It i ...

holiday), pushed ahead from a planned launch later in the year.Scripps Rebranding Fine Living Into Cooking Channel
''MultiChannel News'', October 8, 2009
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', February 18, 2010

Programming

Original series

Food Network stars

Emeril Lagasse Emeril John Lagasse III ( ; born October 15, 1959) is an American chef, restaurateur, television personality, cookbook author, and National Best Recipe award winner for his "Turkey and Hot Sausage Chili" recipe in 2003. He is a regional James ...

Rachael Ray Rachael Domenica Ray (born August 25, 1968) is an American cook, television personality, businesswoman, and author. She hosted the syndicated daily talk and lifestyle program '' Rachael Ray''. Other programs to her credit include ''30 Minut ...

and

Bobby Flay Robert William "Bobby" Flay (born December 10, 1964) is an American celebrity chef, food writer, restaurateur, and Television presenter, television personality. Flay is the owner and Chef de cuisine, executive chef of several restaurants and fr ...

were among the first to air new programs on the channel, entitled ''Emeril's Fresh Food Fast'', ''Week In a Day'', and '' Brunch @ Bobby's''. Original programming included the Mo Rocca-hosted food education program ''Food(ography)'' and the combination reality TV series and cooking show ''Extra Virgin'', featuring slice-of-life footage of actress

Debi Mazar Debi Mazar Corcos (; born August 13, 1964) is an American actress and television personality. She began her career with supporting roles in '' Goodfellas'' (1990), '' Little Man Tate'' (1991), '' Singles'' (1992), and '' Batman Forever'' (1995), ...

, her Italian chef husband Gabriele Cocoros, their two children, and assorted friends and family members. The weekly series '' Robert Earl's Be My Guest'', which premiered in September 2014, features entrepreneur and restaurateur

Robert Earl Robert Earl (born 29 May 1951) is an English-American film producer, investor, restaurateur, and television personality. He is the founder and CEO of Planet Hollywood, chairman of the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, and host of ...

as he goes behind the velvet rope to share the best-of-the-best dining secrets and destinations. During February 2015, Cooking Channel premiered '' Unwrapped 2.0''—a revival of the original Food Network series '' Unwrapped''. Actress

Haylie Duff Haylie Katherine Duff (born February 19, 1985) is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her roles as Sandy Jameson in the television series '' 7th Heaven'', Amy Sanders in ''Lizzie McGuire'' and Summer Wheatly in ''Napoleon Dyn ...

presented '' The Real Girl's Kitchen'' and ''Haylie's America'' on the channel. Other original series include ''

Dinner at Tiffani's ''Dinner at Tiffani's'' is an American food-based television series on the Cooking Channel that premiered on February 25, 2015. The show follows host Tiffani Thiessen preparing dinner with a different group of celebrity friends each episode an ...

'' hosted by

Tiffani Thiessen Tiffani Amber Thiessen (born January 23, 1974) is an American actress. Her roles as List of Saved by the Bell characters#Kelly Kapowski, Kelly Kapowski on NBC's ''Saved by the Bell'' (1989–1993) and its Saved by the Bell#Spin-offs, spin-off me ...

, '' Man Fire Food'' hosted by Roger Mooking, '' Food: Fact or Fiction?'' hosted by Michael McKean, ''Tia Mowry at Home'' hosted by Tia Mowry, '' Cheap Eats'' hosted by Ali Khan, '' Carnival Eats'' hosted by Noah Cappe, ''Rev Run's Sunday Suppers'' hosted by Rev Run, ''

Unique Eats ''Unique Eats'' is a TV series on Cooking Channel about various restaurants across the United States and their signature dishes. The show features talking head interviews with various chefs and food critics who give their judgement about the foo ...

'', '' Unique Sweets'', and '' Donut Showdown''.

Repeats

Shows airing on the Cooking Channel that are first to air in the United States but have previously aired outside the country come predominantly from cooks in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

, such as Food Network Canada host David Rocco, who hosts the self-titled '' David Rocco's Dolce Vita'' and Irish chef Rachel Allen with '' Rachel Allen: Bake!''. The following Cooking Channel programs are either "first to air in the U.S." or reruns that come from the

library: '' A Cook's Tour'', '' Ace of Cakes'', ''Bill's Food'', '' Bitchin' Kitchen'', ''Caribbean Food Made Easy'', '' Chuck's Day Off'', '' Chinese Food Made Easy'', ''

Cupcake Wars ''Cupcake Wars'' is an American reality competition series that premiered on December 27, 2009, on cable television network Food Network. The show, which is based on creating unique and professional-style cupcakes, was hosted by Justin Willma ...

'', '' Drink Up'', '' Easy Chinese San Francisco by Ching He Huang'', '' Everyday Exotic'', '' Everyday Italian'' with Giada De Laurentiis, '' FoodCrafters'', ''

Food Jammers ''Food Jammers'' is a cooking show featuring Micah Donovan, Chris Martin (tv personality), Chris Martin, and Nobu Adilman; three backyard mechanics who make homebrew cooking equipment using junkyard parts, found objects, and locally sourced ingredi ...

'', '' French Food at Home'', '' Good Eats'', ''Indian Food Made Easy'', ''

Iron Chef is a Japanese television cooking show produced by Fuji Television. The series, which premiered on October 10, 1993, is a stylized cook-off featuring guest chefs challenging one of the show's resident "Iron Chefs" in a timed cooking battle buil ...

'' (original Japanese version), ''

Iron Chef America ''Iron Chef America'' is an American cooking show based on Fuji Television's ''Iron Chef'', and is the second American adaptation of the series, following the failed ''Iron Chef USA'' that aired in 2001. The show is produced by Food Network, wh ...

'', ''

MasterChef Canada ''MasterChef Canada'' is a Canadian competitive cooking reality show, part of the ''MasterChef'' franchise, open to amateur home cooks across Canada. It premiered on CTV on January 20, 2014, and has since aired its seventh season. The show stars ...

'', '' Spice Goddess'', ''

Two Fat Ladies ''Two Fat Ladies'' was a British cooking programme starring Jennifer Paterson and Clarissa Dickson Wright. It originally ran for four series – twenty-four episodes – from 9 October 1996 to 28 September 1999, being produced by Optomen, Optom ...

'', and ''Tyler's Ultimate'', in addition to various past programs hosted by

Julia Child Julia Carolyn Child (Birth name#Maiden and married names, née McWilliams; August 15, 1912 – August 13, 2004) was an American chef, author, and television personality. She is recognized for having brought French cuisine to the American pu ...

and

Nigella Lawson Nigella Lucy Lawson (born 6 January 1960) is an English food writer and television cook. After graduating from Oxford, Lawson worked as a book reviewer and restaurant critic, later becoming the deputy literary editor of ''The Sunday Times'' in ...

International versions

As Fine Living

From September 3, 2004 to October 19, 2009, a Canadian version of FLN was broadcast under the name Fine Living. It was replaced by a Canadian version of

DIY Network Magnolia Network is an American basic cable network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery in partnership with Chip and Joanna Gaines, the founders of lifestyle company Magnolia. It broadcasts personality-based lifestyle programs related to topics ...

. In Europe, FLN launched in 2010, replaced

Zone Club Zone Club was a European lifestyle (sociology), lifestyle and entertainment channel. It launched in 1998 as Club. It then launched on 1 April 2001 in Poland, and on 13 September 2004 in Hungary. History The Hungarian version was originally 24/7 o ...

, except Poland. From March 26, 2014 to October 22, 2017, an Italian version of FLN was broadcast under the name Fine Living.

As Cooking Channel

A Canadian version of Cooking Channel launched on December 12, 2016, replacing W Movies. It is operated by

Corus Entertainment Corus Entertainment Inc. (often simply known as Corus) is a Canadian mass media and television production company. The company was founded in 1987 as Shaw Radio Ltd. as a subsidiary of Shaw Communications and was spun-off from Shaw in 1999. It h ...

, who also operates the Canadian version of Food Network; Scripps Networks Interactive acquired a minority stake in the channel following its launch. On January 1, 2025, Corus lost the rights to most WBD lifestyle and factual brands, causing the complete shutdown nationwide. Rogers Sports and Media took over all the rights, including Cooking Channel, moving its content to

Citytv+ Citytv (sometimes shortened to City, which was the network's official branding from 2012 to 2018) is a Canadian television network owned by the Rogers Sports & Media subsidiary of Rogers Communications. The network consists of six owned-and-o ...

References

External links

* {{Commons category, Cooking Channel Works about cooking Companies based in Knoxville, Tennessee Television channels and stations established in 2002 English-language television stations in the United States Food Network Warner Bros. Discovery networks Nexstar Media Group 2002 establishments in Tennessee Former E. W. Scripps Company subsidiaries Television channels and networks about food and drink