Food
Scripps acquires Singapore-based Asian Food Channel
MUMBAI: Scripps Networks Interactive, which has made international expansion a top strategic priority, is strengthening its competitive position in Asia with the acquisition of the Asian Food Channel (AFC), the region’s leading food-focused pay television network.
The Asian Food Channel, which is based in Singapore, reaches about 8 million subscribers in 11 markets. With the addition of the Asian Food Channel, Scripps Networks Interactive now has three lifestyle television brands that it is marketing in the region. Food Network and Travel Channel also are distributed in Asia.
“Asia and the rapid growth in pay television households throughout the region hold great promise for Scripps Networks Interactive and its international ambitions,” said Kenneth W. Lowe, the company’s chairman, president and chief executive officer.
The Asian Food Channel broadcasts 24 hours a day, seven days a week and leverages a substantial library of acquired Asian and international video content as well as a growing number of originally-produced programs. The network generates revenues through regional and local advertising sales as well as fees from pay television operators.
“Acquiring the Asian Food Channel significantly expands our presence in key growth markets and provides us with a solid foundation on which to build a growing lifestyle media business in the region. The channel aligns perfectly with our lifestyle programming focus.”
“We have built AFC from scratch over eight years to become a well-recognized brand in the region with a top management team that will help Scripps expand its presence across the Southeast Asia region,” said Maria Brown, co-founder and chief executive officer of the Asian Food Channel. “As an entrepreneur, I am enormously proud to see our company take this next step in its evolution. I look forward to seeing the Asian Food Channel continue to grow as part of the Scripps Networks Interactive family and as one of their leading lifestyle brands.”
Derek Chang, who was appointed recently as managing director of the Asia Pacific region for Scripps Networks Interactive, will oversee the management and integration of the Asian Food Channel. He also will oversee operations of Scripps Networks Interactive’s existing networks in the region.
Scripps Networks Interactive has been expanding its international operations starting in 2009 with the launch of the Food Network in the United Kingdom and other markets in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region.
In 2012, the company acquired the London-based international operations of the Travel Channel. Food Network and Travel Channel are distributed in selected markets in Asia.
Scripps Networks Interactive isin partnership with BBC Worldwide through its 50-percent ownership of UKTV, which operates a suite of 10 general entertainment and lifestyle channels in the U.K. The company also is in partnership with Shaw Communications, which operates HGTV, Food Network and DIY Network in Canada.
Food
Rocky Singh takes Road Trippin to Uttar Pradesh for a flavour-packed season with an unexpected finale
The sixteenth season of the HistoryTV18 travel and food franchise rolls from Mathura to Lucknow before pulling a surprise detour to Chandigarh and Delhi
MUMBAI: Rocky Singh is back on the road, and this time Uttar Pradesh is the destination. Season 16 of Road Trippin With Rocky launches on 25th March on HistoryTV18 and across Rocky’s social media platforms, running through 31st March in what promises to be one of the more ambitious outings of a franchise that has quietly become one of Indian digital television’s most enduring food and travel properties.
The route this season threads through the heart of the state. The journey begins in Mathura, where Singh will visit local institutions Shankar Mithai Wala and Mittal Foods, before moving on to Agra. The city is better known for the Taj Mahal, but Singh is after its food trail, stopping at Gopal Das Petha Wala, GMB Gopika Sweets and Restaurant, and the irresistibly named Mama Chicken Mama Franky House. From Agra, the road leads to Kanpur, a bustling city with an underrated food scene, and then to Lucknow, the UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy and the City of Nawabs, where the cuisine needs little introduction but Singh intends to show exactly what makes it tick.
And then comes the twist. Having reached Lucknow, the season does not end there. Singh unexpectedly turns north to Chandigarh, independent India’s first planned city, where he will explore how a leading university is shaping the next generation of hospitality professionals alongside the city’s iconic eateries. The journey concludes in Delhi, at its world-class airport, which the show frames as a reflection of the scale and ambition of modern India.
What began as a digital-first experiment has evolved, over 16 seasons, into one of HistoryTV18’s most commercially and creatively significant content franchises. The numbers are not modest. Road Trippin With Rocky has accumulated over 2 billion impressions and more than 570 million video views, built on a format that is spontaneous, mobile-first and designed for on-the-go viewing. Its tone has remained consistent enough to build a genuinely loyal following across YouTube, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
Sixteen seasons in, most travel food shows are running out of road. Singh appears to be finding new ones.
