Scripps Networks is carving a niche for itself in terms of lifestyle media channels. The company launched HGTV in 1994, and among its five other networks, probably is best known is the Food Network channel, which is available in more than 99 million households in the United States.

Now Scripps Networks, which touts itself as the “leader in lifestyle media,” is looking to expand distribution of its products, beginning with moving the Food Network beyond North America.

Food Network began broadcasting in the United Kingdom in November, and the operator launched Food Network in HD throughout the Asia-Pacific region Jan. 1 through a deal with Measat Satellite Systems to use the Measat-3a satellite. The new channel is programmed and versioned for specific countries. Scripps Networks then followed that with the unveiling of a joint venture with Chello Zone to launch Food Network in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

Greg Moyer, president, Scripps Networks International, says the company is “only just getting started” in terms of its international ambitions.
Moyer talks to Via Satellite about his plans and potential deals the company could make with satellite operators to make the Food Network more of a global presence. 

VIA SATELLITE: Has the recession had an impact on your business?

Moyer: We are not immune to the overall economic circumstances to which we find ourselves, but I think we have managed to avoid the worst of the recessionary pressures. We have done quite well in terms of ad sales over the last 12 months. This was not a record breaking year by any means, but generally speaking, it was not the worst of times either. 

VIA SATELLITE: What do you see as the main growth drivers for your business?

Moyer: In terms of the international business, we are only just getting started. Up to 2009, our primary activity in international markets has been to do program sales. That has been a nice little business, but what we have decided to do since January 2009 is syndicate whole brands and whole channels outside of North America. We have launched Food Network in the United Kingdom, and now we have begun a technical feed trial of our Food Network in Asia. 

VIA SATELLITE: What is the significance of your agreement with Measat, and what are your plans for broadcasting more channels in the Asia-Pacific region?

Moyer: We are very pleased with the deal we signed with Measat. Ascent Media is our uplink and playout provider in Asia. There is no reason to think that we will not be launching additional brands in Asia over the next couple of years.

In the United States, we will soon have six channels, counting the Travel Channel, which we acquired in a [joint venture] with Cox Communications. I would like to take more brands overseas. Conceivably, we will have more demands for new satellite capacity in the next 12 months. 

VIA SATELLITE: How do you view the U.K. market for Scripps Networks?

Moyer: We are excited by the ad sales potential in the U.K. market. We believe we have a very advertiser friendly channel in a mature market. It is also helpful to both our ad sales and future planning efforts that there are good measurement tools there. We can find out when people are watching the channel and use that insight to shape our product globally. 

VIA SATELLITE: Will you need to sign other capacity deals in the near future to bring the Food Network to other regions of the world?

Moyer: It is quite possible. We have a satisfying solution for the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) business. We have a deal with Eutelsat for Eurobird to hit the DTH audience in the United Kingdom playing out of Arqiva in London. We will be launching a Food Network feed in EMEA that is going to be carried on Telstar. Measat 3 is coming out of Singapore, so that is primarily for our Asian business. It is a massive C-band footprint that stretches all the way from Dubai to Korea to Australia, so there is a good opportunity to build a strong footprint in Asia. 

VIA SATELLITE: How big can the international business come for Scripps Networks?

Moyer: We don’t have a hard target that we are going after. If you look at companies that have been in the business some time, such as Discovery, there are getting around 33 percent of their revenues from international markets. Now, Discovery International has just celebrated its 15th anniversary, and it has been in the United Kingdom around 20 years. I have a whole generation before I can catch up to that, but we certainly expect the international business to produce meaningful revenue over the next five years. We want to build another revenue stream that matters to the company. 

VIA SATELLITE: What are your plans in terms of producing content in HD?

Moyer: We will be launching Food Network in Asia as an HD channel. We have plans to create a EMEA feed of Food Network in HD by the second quarter. We want to launch that no later than April 1st. We very much want to be available in HD for as many operators who are willing to carry us. We produce the vast majority of our content in the United States in HD. I wish I could acquire more HD content overseas, but the transition is a little slower there. Most of our HD content at the moment comes out of the United States, but over time, we want to find more content elsewhere produced in HD. 

VIA SATELLITE: How important is HD now as a driver of your business?

Moyer: HD is very important to our business plans. We will be making our branded channels available in both SD and HD whenever possible and expect that the HD signal will be an important driver for carriage in many mature multichannel markets. Our Food Network Asia feed launches in HD and our Food Network EMEA feed goes HD in April. 

VIA SATELLITE: What are the major challenges to remain relevant in this new media environment?

Moyer: I think it is very important to be a channel, even though the world is fragmenting. The reason I say that is, one of the best ways to build a brand is still to be a television network that stands for something. What we are building here at Scripps Networks is a collection of channel brands in the lifestyle space: Food Network, Home and Garden Television (HGTV), the Travel Channel. These are going to be pillars of expertise in terms of lifestyle media, however, television will not necessarily be limited to distribution over cable and satellite or broadcast.

It can found on the Internet and other ways. Plus, you can build your brand off-air through a number of other activities, such as publishing and licensing, so what we see going forward is building brand-centric businesses around the world, which are driven off of our expertise in lifestyle television. I think if you start with TV and move out into other avenues of exposure, you are probably doing it the right way for now. 

VIA SATELLITE: Will you look to stream more content online in the future?

Moyer: We are certainly open to where the world takes us, but streaming is not a wonderful outcome for those of us who have been in the television business because there really is not yet a model for monetizing it effectively. It is not something I am rushing to do. I just don’t see a business model today as to why I should put content on the Internet for free. 

VIA SATELLITE: With others pushing 3-D, will you introduce 3-D programming into your channels?

Moyer: Scripps Networks International has no immediate plans for 3-D telecasts. We’ll certainly monitor developments but would expect sports, movies and epic documentary formats to lead the charge into this new dimension of television. 

VIA SATELLITE: Are you seeing any noticeable growth in advertising as we begin 2010?

Moyer: Advertising trends are hard for us to predict given that we were really not in the market during 2009. Our first experience of advertising sales is occurring right now — and so far, so good. 

VIA SATELLITE: How do you see the broadcast landscape changing over the next 12 months?

Moyer: I think we will have launched at least one additional brand into the world. I hope will be operating strongly across the United Kingdom, EMEA and Asia. We will also hopefully be preparing to launch in Latin America. We want to keep adding channels and brands to our international portfolio.