Anthony Bourdain trashes Scripps Networks' Food Network and Travel Channel: 'Must be hard to make Burger World or World's Best Roller Coasters year after year after year'.

The caustic chef and telenality Anthony Bourdain now seen on CNN International (DStv 401) was full of praise for CNN but totally trashed The Food Network (DStv 175) and The Travel Channel (DStv 179) from Scripps Networks from the stage at this weekend's Produced By Conference New York.

Although he didn't have to, Anthony Bourdain slammed The Food Network and The Travel Channel where he previously did TV shows like No Reservations, and he had no reservation in telling the public exactly what he thinks of these channels.

No doing Parts Unknown on CNN International, Anthony Bourdain pushed the butcher's knife in to the hilt, saying executives at Scripps Networks, The Food Network and The Travel Channel "have this perverse desire to undermine their brands and saw us as a way to do that".

"In the Food Network's case, to do penance for some of the utter shit they've been unloading for years," Anthony Bourdain said.

"And with The Travel Channel, it must be hard to make Burger World or World’s Best Roller Coasters year after year after year. We went in assuming the worst and knowing it was going to be war."

In South Africa and across Africa The Food Network and The Travel Channel are seen on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform, packaged and distributed by Scripps Networks Interactive.

BREAKING. MultiChoice and Discovery Networks International removes Animal Planet from DStv Compact; makes Travel Channel more widely available.

MultiChoice and Discovery Networks International are taking Animal Planet (DStv 183) away from DStv Compact subscribers from 10 December but are making Scripps Networks International's Travel Channel (DStv 179) available to DStv Compact and DStv Family viewers.

MultiChoice Africa and Discovery Networks for the Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEEMEA) region are removing Animal Planet from 10 December from DStv's channel line-up in Nigeria where subscribers last month were outraged over a transgender show on Discovery CEEMEA's other channel, TLC Entertainment.

In South Africa meanwhile, Animal Planet is tiered upwards and will only be available to DStv Premium and DStv Extra subscribers from 10 December.

Taking Animal Planet away from DStv Compact subscribers is part of a "new packaging strategy for Discovery's channel portfolio," says MultiChoice in a statement.

Last week Discovery CEEMEA held its annual upfront in South Africa but said nothing about the pending Animal Planet change on DStv.

The Discovery World (DStv 187) channel, another Discovery channel available on DStv, was interestingly completely left out of the upfront and even its channel logo was nowhere to be seen. It instantly sparked speculation over whether Discovery World is going to be removed from MultiChoice's DStv platform in 2016.

Asked if the Discovery World channel will be discontinued in 2016 and why the channel was removed from the upfront, Discovery CEEMEA isn't giving a definite answer and says it "wanted to concentrate the story on less channels this year to increase the impact on the audience, and we were very pleased with the results".

Meanwhile making Animal Planet a more exclusive channel is part of "a new approach, to be announced shortly, that will align these services with DStv customers in a way that will deliver superior value to fans of Discovery's brands all over Africa," says MultiChoice.

MultiChoice says DStv Compact subscribers who watched Animal Planet can watch similar programming about wildlife and exploration on the Discovery competitor National Geographic on channels like the National Geographic Channel (DStv 181) and Nat Geo Wild (DStv 182).

Meanwhile Scripps Networks International's Travel Channel will get a wider distribution from 10 December when the channel is opened to DStv Compact and DStv Family subscribers. The channel is currently only available to DStv Premium and DStv Extra subscribers.

Scripps Networks International shares programming highlights of September to December for Food Network and Travel Channel - but not with South Africa's press & TV critics.

Scripps Networks International that runs the Food Network (DStv 175) and the Travel Channel (DStv 179) on MultiChoice's DStv, announced highlights for September to December for the channels at the MultiChoice Content Showcase held at the Outrigger Mauritius Resort & Spa in Mauritius.

South African press and TV critics were not invited, nor told beforehand that the 5-day presentation and programming upfront for various TV channels available on the DStv platform would be taking place.

Scripps Networks International didn't share the information made available in Mauritius to the media there with South Africa's press and TV writers.

Yet the programming information on the Food Network and the Travel Channel is as relevant to South African viewers on DStv as for those elsewhere in Africa.

In Mauritius, Scripps Networks International ironically directed African press outside South Africa to the Food Network's South African web page at foodnetwork.co.za for TV listings, chef biographies and recipes.

Africa's press were also given a starting date - ironically - for Jenny and Reza's Fabulous Food Academy - Monday 2 November at 16:00 on the Food Network. A show filmed in South Africa with South Africans. (The starting date hasn't even been communicated to South African press yet.)


Here is the upcoming programming highlights for The Food Network and Travel Channel on DStv, given to African press, but not to South Africa (although its applicable and 100% the same channels seen throughout the entire Africa continent):


Food Network
Dinner at Tiffani’s
Starts: Friday 11 September 20:00
Tiffani Thiessen invites her celebrity friends over for good company, great stories and delicious food. With guests like Jason Priestley, Seth Green.

The Kitchen, season 3
Starts: Tuesday 15 September 09:00
Presenters Sunny Anderson, Katie Lee, Jeff Mauro, Marcela Valladolid and Geoffrey Zakarian are experts at fun conversation and sharing delicious recipes.

Man Finds Food
Starts: Tuesday 20 October 21:00
Adam Richman travels across America to find the hidden gems of the fast food scene.

Siba’s Table, season 2
Starts: Friday 16 October 20:00
Siba Mtongana shares the rich fusion culture of modern South African food.

Jenny and Reza’s Fabulous Food Academy
Starts: Monday 2 November 16:00
A new series in which six aspiring chefs are taken under the wings of the culinary duo. Jenny and Reza will be teaching six ambitious chefs to create delicious feasts and improve their cooking skills.

Guy's Grocery Games, season 4
Starts: Monday 16 November 18:00
Guy Fieri sends four talented chefs running through the aisles in a high stakes, high skills, grocery store cooking competition.

Grandma's Secret Cookbook, season 3
Starts: Tuesday 1 December 16:30
Blow the dust off your old cookbooks and join Mo Rocca in the kitchen, as he dons his apron alongside some golden oldies, who reminisce and reveal some treasured recipes from generations gone by.

Chopped, season 22
Starts: Wednesday 9 December 19:00
Four chefs call on their culinary skills as they face off against one another to prepare a spectacular three-course meal consisting of an appetizer, entree and dessert. The catch? In each round, they have to use all the ingredients the show provides them, however unlikely they might be.


Travel Channel

Expedition Unknown, season 1
Starts: Thursday 10 September 20:00
The adventures of Josh Gates as he investigates unsolved iconic stories across the globe.
Armed with a degree in archaeology and a passion for travel, Gates begins by uncovering recent developments in the story, then springboards into a fully immersive exploration.

Shed and Buried, season 1
Starts: Wednesday 2 September at 20:00/20:30
Motorcycle fanatic Henry Cole and friend Sam Lovegrove go in search of automotive bargains hidden away in people's sheds and garages.

Off the Map, season 1
Starts: Monday 5 October 21:00/21:30
Shannen Doherty (Beverly Hills 90210, Charmed) and Holly Marie Combs (Charmed, Pretty Little Liars) are taking a break from Hollywood to go Off the Map in search of unfiltered adventure in America.

Mysteries at the Museum, season 6 (Halloween)
Starts: Sunday 4 October 21:00
Don Wildman visits America's museums, where strange and curious remnants of the past are revealed.

House Hunters International
Starts: Monday 5 October 18:00/18:30
From Denmark to the Dominican Republic, we follow home seekers around the world as they navigate the sometimes rough waters of buying real estate in other countries.

Worlds Greatest Motorcycle Rides – Balkans
Starts: Monday 2 November 20:00
In the 90s, Henry Cole was a war cameraman at the height of troubles in the Balkans. Viewers will follow Cole as he undertakes a 2000km journey through Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia and finally into Serbia.

African Motorcycle Diaries
Starts: Monday 9 November 21:00
Join Spencer as he traverses the African continent by motorbike! Travelling from the UK to Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Angola, Congo, Gabon, Guinea, Senegal and back again, his journey is both challenging and beautiful.

Time Travel with Brian Unger
Starts: December
Time Traveling with Brian Unger goes where ordinary travellers can’t, using eye-popping CGI graphics to visually travel back in time and tell stories from yesteryear that tourists won't find in the guidebooks.

Monumental Mysteries, season 3
Starts: December
Don Wildman searches the U.S. to unearth the nation's most fascinating monuments and the incredible tales behind them.

Food Network gives Siba Mtongana a 2nd season for Siba's Table and a new series, Siba in the Kitchen; Reza Mohammad goes to Far East.

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Scripps Networks International has commissioned a further three new original shows for the Food Network (DStv 175) for the UK and Europe, Middle East and Africa (UK & EMEA) regions, with Reza Mohammad and Siba Mtongana, both regulars on the channel, doing new series.

Reza Mohammad will do 7 episodes of Reza Spice Prince of Thailand and 8 episodes of Reza Spice Prince of Vietnam under the "Spice Prince" franchise which will be broadcast on Food Network from 6 October.

Siba in the Kitchen - a working title for her new show - will start in the first quarter of 2015 for 5 episodes, followed by a second season of 10 episodes of Siba's Table in autumn next year.

The second season of Siba's Table will again be filmed in Cape Town and production will start in early 2015. The show became the 2nd most popular programme on Food Network in 2013 across the EMEA region.

"Discovering and nurturing local talent is a key focus for us, helping us to reflect the cultural diversity of the whole region that we operate in," says Nick Thorogood, the senior vice president of content and marketing of Scripps Networks UK & EMEA.

"By investing in our top ranking talent, we are able to ensure that we are creating exciting and fresh programming that appeals to both local and global audiences, all of which help our channel portfolio grow," says Nick Thorogood.

"I'm excited once again for the opportunity to share my cooking passion with the world to revive the lost love for home cooking," says Siba Mtongana. "I'm really looking forward to my next two series and creating even more magic".

"I have loved expanding my repertoire with mouth-watering dishes from the Far East and will share with you my sumptuous interpretation of the food inspired by my travels," says Reza Mahammad.

BREAKING. America's Cooking Channel buys Scripps Networks International's Siba's Table with Siba Mtongana.

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The Cooking Channel in the United States has acquired the South African TV production Siba's Table with Siba Mtongana from Scripps Networks International, making her the first South African celebrity chef to present a TV series on an American TV channel.

Siba's Table, filmed in Cape Town, was shown in 2013 on the Food Network on MultiChoice's DStv with a Christmas themed special episode. Its her second TV outing, after doing Cooking with Siba for M-Net's Mzansi magic TV channel.

Siba's Table will start on 5 April on the Cooking Channel which is available in 60 million homes in the United States.

"I shared Siba's Table with our colleagues stateside and are thrilled for Siba that Cooking Channel will be premiering the series in April for American audiences to enjoy," says Nick Thorogood, the senior vice president of content and marketing for the UK and Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region for Scripps Networks International.

"I'm ecstatic about this wonderful news and really honoured to join the Cooking Channel in the United States," says Siba Mtongana. "This is great news for me, but more so for my beloved country, South Africa, as it will once again place the 'rainbow nation' on the map".

Gareth Williams appointed as the new vice president for commissioning at Scripps Networks International.

Gareth Williams who was a BBC Worldwide content executive is moving to Scripps Networks International as vice president for commissioning for the United Kingdom and Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region in which South Africa falls.

Gareth Williams will take up the new position from April when he replaces Sue Walton.

Gareth Williams will report to Nick Thorogood, the senior vice president for content and marketing at Scripps Networks International.

Gareth Williams will oversee the commissioning for all of Scripps Networks International's channels such as Travel Channel, Food Network and Fine Living Network (FLN) which are seen in South Africa on MultiChoice's DStv and On Digital Media's (ODM) StarSat.

"Gareth brings insight and understanding across editorial and commissioning. His international experience, lifestyle expertise and his extensive knowledge of production communities across the globe will be invaluable as we continue to develop our portfolio of channels," says Nick Thorogood in a statement.

"Food and lifestyle programming has been my passion throughout my  career in TV and I am thrilled to be able to bring my experience and passion together in this new role working for the world's greatest platform for this genre of television," says Gareth Williams in the statement.