Scripps Networks Interactive has seen steep audience losses at one network and significant gains at another, perhaps indicating how the audience’s appetite is changing.
The steep losses have been at Scripps’ Food Network, reports the New York Post. Food Network lost 17% of its audience during the 12 months through April 30, with the average prime-time show on the network slipping to 1.06 million viewers.
Meanwhile, sister network HGTV grew its audience by 10%, drawing about 1.24 million viewers during prime time. “America seems to like HGTV’s handy hunks, like those on ‘Cousins on Call,’ hosted by Anthony Carrino and John Colaneri,” the story reports.
It appears that home improvement remains a draw, while the audience appetite for food shows like Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives” is falling off, the piece notes.
Despite the ratings problems with Food Network, revenue at the channel rose 5% to $208.3 million. That made it Scripps’ biggest revenue source, the story says.
This shows how people often look at ratings, when companies seek revenue. A common theme in most entertainment. People do no equate lousy programming with a company seeking cash and not worrying on ratings. In TV, cash is also king. Never heard of ratings being king. This is the only reason “Live Well” is still a TV network, when nobody watches it.