Adweek gives us a resounding maybe:
The sheer number of choices is overwhelming, which may be why there’s been some slippage in the TV landscape: Food Network’s Nielsen rating slipped 4 percent year-over-year, Top Chef’s most recent season premiere drew 1.66 million viewers, down more than 1 million from the series’ highwater mark of season five, and Every Day with Rachel Ray magazine lost 14 percent in ad revenue from last year, according to the MPA, Association of Magazine Media. And critics say the glut of reality-show competitions associated with cuisine has cheapened the culinary landscape. The field is becoming so crowded, goes the argument, that food media is being pushed to absurd extremes.
According to Adweek, there are currently 11 reality shows devoted to cupcake and cake. How much food media is too much for the public to bear?
Hi Phil, I think this situation has been brewing for quite some time now but it was only a matter of time before interest started contracting. The good news is that quality content will gain more cache whilst much of the crap stuff gets culled.
I absolutely agree that the field of food media is becoming overcrowded, especially with the ridiculous number of reality shows. Whatever happened to the good old cooking shows that taught us new techniques and had interesting recipes?
What surprises me is that although the general population has started to eat healthier and become more aware of what they eat, that’s not reflected in food media. The media is still after the cupcakes, desserts and other “unhealthy” food. Seriously how much butter, bacon and cream can we eat? The only reality show I found worth watching was Jamie Oliver’s show about the food revolution. I wish more people thought like him.