Rachael Ray returns to the television kitchen.
A+E Networks has formed a joint venture with Ray’s Free Food Studios to produce a host of lifestyle programming. Under the deal, A+E will acquire a 50 percent stake in Free Food Studios, which Ray formed last year with collaborators Brian Flanagan, Anthony Amoia and Sean Lee of Intentional Content, and will produce 278 episodes of programming for A. Block of Home Made Nation programming from +E Networks. The block airs weekend mornings on the A&E Network and Mondays on sister channel FYI, as well as the company’s FAST services.
Ray will host two cooking shows, Rachael Ray’s meals in minutes and Tuscany by Rachael Raythe latter of which he will film in his villa in Italy.
“Today I just finished writing over 80 pages of recipes and production notes for my innovative new partnership with A+E Networks. “I am very excited for this new chapter of my life to open,” Ray said in a statement. “Viewers can expect to see me cooking in both of my homes, in upstate New York and Tuscany, and creating new shows that will feature an incredible group of diverse and unique culinary talent. “We have been working on this partnership for some time and this is just the beginning.”
Rob Sharenow, head of programming at A+E Networks, said: “There is no one more synonymous with culinary programming than Rachael Ray and the team at Free Food Studios. The team’s experience and skill in developing and producing high-quality content that viewers crave is second to none, and we look forward to working together to bring Rachael and a new generation of talent to A+E Networks and screens around the world everywhere. the platforms. “
Intentional Content has worked with Ray on several of his television shows, including 30 minute meals, The Reconstruction of Rachael Ray and Rachael Ray’s Italian Dream Home. “When Sean, Anthony and I started Free Food with Rachael, the ownership and scale of the library was crucial to our collective mission statement,” Flanagan said. “During that same time period, A+E Networks were great partners in helping us launch Rachael into the home space with Italian dream house and The Reconstruction of Rachael RaySo when it came time to scale and distribute our expanding library of food content, partnering with A+E made a lot of sense.”
Ray, Flanagan, Amoia and Lee will executive produce all projects arising from the deal. Salem Partners advised A+E on the transaction.