Food Network Re-Slices the Pie

In TV Week

“The network has begun negotiating deals with new talent that go beyond hosting shows and give the network a share in online ventures, merchandise and cookbook sales and other deals that have made folks like Emeril Lagasse rich.

Mr. Lagasse, who did his first Food Network show for $50 an episode, now generates $150 million a year, including $90 million from restaurants, according to Mr. Lagasse in an interview with Cigar Aficionado magazine last year. There are Emeril sausages, Emeril seasonings, Emeril bowls, Emeril knives and Emeril wines.

Food Network doesn’t get a piece of that, but it wants to in the future.”