Meredith has done well with its homegrown syndicated show Better, prompting many to wonder if there might be a second in-house show in the offing from the group. If you thought it was the lifestyle program More, currently airing on KVVU Vegas, you're probably wrong. Paul Karpowicz, Meredith Local Media Group president, thinks the group's AllRecipes.com acquisiton may have legs as a homegrown show, saying he would "love to get it off the ground" in the not so distant future.
"The next logical extension is taking that to TV," says Karpowicz.
Better is an extension of Meredith's Better Homes and Gardens magazine. It launched at KPTV Portland in 2006 and went beyond its home base a year later, initially at nine Meredith stations and three owned by Journal Broadcast Group. It now airs in 155 TV markets.
More is a magazine in the group as well.
Meredith acquired AllRecipes.com for $175 million two years ago. It now publishes six print issues of AllRecipes a year.
Meredith is testing the AllRecipes TV concept, along with some talent, with segments in the Better program.
"We took it from digital to print, and it would be pretty cool to take it to a half hour—or hour—show," says Karpowicz. "We'll use [Better] to tests hosts and concepts and ideas and see what it feels like, and if it can develop to a full blown show."
I spoke with Paul for a story in our new issue on Meredith's (pending) acquisition of three former Belo stations—why it was right for Meredith, and what my beloved industry watchers thought of the deal.
