Veteran programming executive and former History Channel president Jana Bennett died Thursday at 66.

Bennett, in a 2019 interview with The Evening Standard, revealed that she was suffering from a brain tumor and was supporting research focusing on the disease.  

Bennett served as History Channel’s president and general manager from 2015 to 2017, overseeing the production of such hit series as Roots and Vikings. Named as a Multichannel News Wonder Woman in 2017, Bennett originally joined A+E Networks in 2013 to oversee the rebrand of BIO into FYI. Bennett also oversaw operations for TLC in the late 1990s.

Prior to A+E, Bennett ran British-based BBC Worldwide from 2010 to 2012, part of a multi-decade stint at the BBC. 

“All of us at A+E Networks deeply mourn the loss of our friend and colleague Jana Bennett,” Paul Buccieri, president & chairman, A+E Networks said in a statement. “Jana had an extraordinary career in media and her contributions to the A+E Networks family are too enormous to count. She was a groundbreaking, game-changing, generous and beautiful person. She will be terribly missed by all of us, and especially by me. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family at this time.” ■ 

A+E has teamed with the NAACP and media company OZY to create a June 8 special focusing on race relations in America.

The special, The Time is Now: Race and Resolution, will air commercial free across A+E Networks-owned A&E, HISTORY, VICE TV, Lifetime, FYI and LMN, and will discuss issues regarding systemic racism, implicit bias, economic inequality, and cases of police brutality which have plagued our nation, according to the company.

Hosted by OZY CEO/co-founder Carlos Watson, the special will feature appearances from

NAACP president Derrick Johnson, NBA legend Kareem Abdul Jabbar, actress Yvette Nicole Brown, activist and Until Freedom co-founder Tamika Mallory, The Atlantic writer Jemele Hill and Houston Police Department chief Art Acevedo.

“In times like these, it is our responsibility to use our powerful platforms to inform and inspire positive change, said Paul Buccieri, president, A+E Networks Group. “We are proud to partner with the NAACP and OZY to bring this important program to audiences around the country.”

Lifetime has redefined the docuseries for a new generation of viewers with its provocative, sometimes controversial focus on headline-grabbing topics and personalities. From limited series such as Surviving R. Kelly — which focused on singer R. Kelly’s history of alleged sexual abuse — to culture-challenging shows like Married at First Sight, the network continues to serve its targeted female audiences in authentic and innovative ways.

Leading the network’s programming charge is Gena McCarthy, executive VP and head of programming, Lifetime Unscripted & FYI, who recently spoke to R. Thomas Umstead, Multichannel News senior content producer, programming, about the basic cable network’s nonfiction programming strategy.

How is Lifetime’s heavy focus on docuseries helping to shape the network brand? We had tremendous success with tentpole documentaries. The gigantic headline that worked from a cultural and female empowerment point of view was Surviving R. Kelly. Because that one was so explosively strong on every possible level, we strategically expanded our approach to the genre, including literally expanding the Surviving franchise with Surviving R. Kelly Part 2: The Reckoning and Surviving Jeffrey Epstein.

How transcendent was the Surviving R. Kelly franchise? The series led to a 40% increase in calls to help lines, which we are incredibly proud of, but it also led us to expanding our reach with other stories. There are many others coming down the pipeline.

Why are Lifetime’s bioseries resonating with female viewers? I think authenticity is key. The stories that resonate best with viewers are those that they are familiar with. Relationships are the North Star for everything from a content point of view on Lifetime right now, so being able to tell these stories through that lens of intimate relationships is something that our audiences want. These stories have such famous — and sometimes infamous — highs and lows and twists, which we learned our viewers crave, whether it's in a movie of the week, a scripted series or a best performing documentary series that we offer, [so] it’s worked really well. We’re also developing biomovies; there is a Wendy Williams movie and documentary that’s coming through, and we’re constantly developing movies that tell the stories of women that have inspiring, controversial and dramatic — but always authentic — life stories that work so brilliantly with our audience.

What’s been Lifetime’s secret to maintaining the success of its iconic brand in the face of competition from female-targeted cable and streaming services? We use a phrase called ‘outrageously relatable characters and stories,’ and when we get it right it leads to incredibly well-performing series like Dance Moms and Married at First Sight, which is the best performing content on the brand. We have a show called Bride & Prejudice, which types into the cultural zeitgeist right now. Having these outrageously relatable stories — all told through a relationship filter that has a provocative bite to it — works incredibly well for Lifetime.

How well is Lifetime positioned for the evolving media landscape? The proliferation of places to watch and what to watch is astonishing and sometimes overwhelming, but what we always talk about on our teams is great content will always win, and great content transcends any distribution platform.

BONUS FIVE

What’s on your DVR? Every episode of Big Bang Theory; women’s NCAA volleyball championships.
Books on your nightstand?Hostage by Kristina Ohlsson; The Witch Elm by Tana French
Favorite food destination? Primanti Brothers: Best comfort food in hometown Pittsburgh, ever. A full meal inside two giant slabs of bread.
Bucket list destination? Fiji — to swim and read 24/7.
Favorite podcast?The Daily

Kid chefs are serving up a broad audience plate for cable networks offering adolescent- themed cuisine shows.

From Fox’s kids-themed MasterChef Junior to FYI’s Man vs. Child: Chef Showdown to Food Network’s Chopped Junior, the kids cooking genre is providing flavorful content that delivers viewers across several demos, according to network officials.

“Part of the appeal for viewers is the wow factor of seeing young kids with such advanced skills for their age in the kitchen,” Gena McCarthy, executive vice president of programming and development for FYI, said. And sophomore series Man vs. Child: Chef Showdown is one of FYI’s most watched shows and skews younger than the network’s more traditional cooking shows.

Kid versions of popular cooking shows such as Chopped Junior not only reach fans of the original but also bring in younger viewers that may not be familiar with those older-skewing series.

NBCUniversal this fall will look to draw kids 2-11 and their parents to its Universal Kids network — a rebrand of preschool channel Sprout — with the October premiere of Top Chef Junior, a spinoff of Bravo’s long-running series Top Chef.

"We are fortunate to be able to tap into the equity of Bravo's Top Chef and evolve the format to deliver the experience kids expect from their content, and to have Top Chef's own Curtis Stone along with Vanessa Lachey - both parents of young kids - starring on the show makes it that much more authentic," said Deirdre Brennan, general manager of Universal Kids. 

Ratings That Really Cook
Food Network is enjoying ratings success from several kids-themed shows, including Chopped Junior which, in its fourth season, posted double-digit ratings increases during its first quarter 2017 run compared to the same period last year, according to the network.

In addition, Food’s Kids Baking Championship — which finished its third season this past March — was the most-watched program with respect to co-viewing in its time slot among cable networks, with nearly 30% of adults 25-54 watching with their kids, said network officials.

“Ultimately, our goal remains growing our core demo [adults 25-54], though when we hook the whole family at 8 p.m. with shows designed for A25-54 viewers that also attract kids, it’s a win-win and we keep the parents watching as the night progresses,” said Allison Page, general manager, U.S. programming and development for Scripps Networks Interactive, which owns Food Network.

Courtney White, senior vice president of programming for Scripps, said kids-targeted food shows retain the same format as their adult counterparts, but have the added appeal of featuring very talented and competitive preteens and teens who take cooking seriously.

“One of the biggest challenges is remembering that these kids are skilled, with a real passion for food, which deserves to be taken as seriously as any of our adult chefs — including not patronizing their exceptional talent with easier challenges and/or softer judging,” she said.

Maintaining Positive Tones
While the kids may rival the adults in the kitchen, the competitions on kids-themed shows such as MasterChef Junior or Chopped Junior are not nearly as dramatic and intense as their adult counterparts, which helps expand the brand’s audience base.

“Families can turn to these shows and feel very comfortable that they are going to get programming that’s not going to have a lot of negativity and the cutthroat competition approach,” said Isaac Holub, co-founder and executive producer for production company Lucky 8 TV, which produces Food's Kids BBQ Championship along with Turn Card Content. “They know its going to be an entertaining, positive experience.”

Longtime A+E Networks executive Jana Bennett will leave her post as head of History, the company confirmed Friday.

Bennett, who was named History president and general manager in 2015, will leave to focus on a new entrepreneurial venture that will split her time between New York and London, according to A+E CEO Nancy Dubuc, who added the Bennett approached her this past spring about leaving the company.

Bennett, who was named a Multichannel News 2017 Wonder Women, joined A+E Networks in 2013 to help rebrand BIO into FYI before moving into the History position. 

“I am enormously grateful for the leadership, passion and commitment she has brought to A+E Networks," said Dubuc in a statement. "Please join me in wishing Jana all the best in her new endeavor." 

In a statement, Bennett said that while the decision to leave was “difficult,” she said it was time to start the next chapter in her life. “I am confident that History will go from strength to strength and will continue to tell stories that America and the rest of the world loves.”

 Below is Dubuc’s memo regarding Bennett’s departure:

Nearly four years ago, Jana Bennett moved from London and joined A+E Networks to launch FYI. This spring, Jana came to me and told me that she wanted to split her time between London and NY and start a new entrepreneurial venture aimed at creating the best of British and American content for both markets.

I’m immensely grateful for the amazing job she has done here at A+E Networks. From launching FYI to wide acclaim, to growing LMN, to leading HISTORY back into growth and securing its position as a premium brand, Jana has been a valued member of the Management Team.

Over the last two years at HISTORY, Jana has built a strong lineup of historical documentary series and boosted its scripted slate, successfully launching ROOTS and SIX. She has helped build a powerful pipeline of other new series, and with the very promising Knightfall coming later this year, is making HISTORY the destination for historically based drama.

Our company has benefited from the many formats and series developed under her watch includingMarried at First Sight, Seven Year Switch, the Tiny House franchise and Escaping Polygamy.

 I am enormously grateful for the leadership, passion and commitment she has brought to A+E Networks. Please join me in wishing Jana all the best in her new endeavor.

FYI will take another bite out of its culinary-themed series Food Porn when the series returns for its second season next month. 

The series, which follows New York restaurateur Michael Chernow as he uncovers the nation’s most mouth-watering dishes, will return for its sophomore campaign on  May 14, said network officials.

Food Porn is produced by Loud TV and Bethenny Frankel’s B Real Productions, with Frankel, Nick Rigg, David George, Karen Kunkel Young and Brent Montgomery serving as executive producers.

"Next to experiencing a great meal is capturing an amazing food picture,” said Frankel in a statement. "But, even the best picture can’t tell the whole story, and I’m obsessed with the next season of ‘Food Porn,’ which continues to bring these posts to life and recognizes some incredible chefs and dishes."

A batch of reality competition shows involving adolescent chefs are dishing out ratings for FYI, Food Network and other cable programmers.

From spinoffs of hit culinary shows such as Fox’s MasterChef Junior and Food Network’s Chopped Junior, to newer offerings such as FYI’s Man vs. Child: Chef Showdown, shows featuring young chefs are providing networks with content that appeals across several demographics. This new flavor of cooking show also skews younger than more-traditional fare.

“There is a cultural phenomenon going on now with kid cooks and having a passion and growing talent for cooking,” Gena McCarthy, executive vice president of programming and development for FYI, said.

For Food Network, shows like Kids Baking Championship and Chopped Junior don’t just appeal to the network’s core adult 18-49 viewer, but also to younger audiences that don’t typically watch the network, according to Didi O’Hearn, senior vice president of programming for the Food Network and Cooking Channel.

Nearly 30% of the adult 18-49 audience for Kids Baking Championship during its freshman run in 2015 watched with their kids, making it the top co-viewed show on cable during its Monday 8 p.m. time slot, according to Food.

Chopped Junior finished its freshman campaign earlier this year as Food Network’s third-most-watched show among both adults 24-54 and adults 25-34, illustrating the genre’s appeal across younger and older audiences.

“Our ultimate goal remains growing our core demo, [but] when we look at the whole family at 8 p.m. with our shows, we benefit from engagement with that core demo, as well as the best type of sampling as far as multigenerational family co-viewing,” O’Hearn said.

Sophomore series Man vs. Child is FYI’s most watched food-themed show and one of its most-watched shows in primetime. McCarthy said the network often schedules episodes in weekend blocks to reach tweens and teens who may not be watching primetime TV.

“Part of the appeal for viewers is there’s a ‘holy crap’ factor when you’re watching these 10-year-old kids with such demonstrative talent in the kitchen — that cuts through in a visual media,” she added. “At the same time, it also appeals to foodies because it’s smart, aspirational and there’s tons of takeaways wrapped in the package.

“It becomes a young brand for FYI and has dual appeal, especially when kids watch with their parents,” McCarthy added.

Both FYI and Food are looking to serve up new shows featuring kid chefs. FYI recently greenlit a second kids-themed cooking show, Stove Tots, produced by Jeff Collins, producer of Lifetime’s Dance Moms, and set to air in 2017. The series follows young cooks and their families as they prepare for and compete in cookoffs across the U.S. (It also greenlit a new non-kids culinary competition series, Man vs. Master.) McCarthy said FYI is looking at other kids’-themed cooking shows, too.

Along with the mid-August launch of Food Network Star spinoff series Food Network Star Kids, Food Network is planning two holiday-themed specials this fall: Kids Halloween Baking Championship and Kids Sweets Showdown, according to O’Hearn.

 FYI has greenlit 15 additional one-hour episodes of its primetime talk series Kocktails with Khloé, the network said Wednesday.

The series, hosted and executive produced by Khloé Kardashian and produced by Pilgrim Media Group, launched Jan. 20 as the most watched series premiere in network history across key demos, according to FYI officials.

The additional 15 episodes will be added to the current eight-episode run, which will keep the series on air through June, according to network officials.

“Khloé and her iconic brand have struck a chord with FYI viewers, who have been extremely interactive with the show on social media," said Gena McCarthy, FYI's senior vice president of programming and development. "Her ability to draw upscale millennial viewers across all our platforms in record numbers is a game changer for FYI.”

Added Executive Producer and Pilgrim Media Group CEO Craig Piligian, “Khloé’s creativity, wit and work ethic make her a perfect host and an ideal partner for Pilgrim. We’re thrilled to continue working with Khloé and FYI as we further our unique spin on primetime talk.”

FYI network has tapped digital media veteran Paul Greenberg as its executive vice president and general manager, A+E Networks president and CEO Nancy Dubuc said Wednesday.

Greenberg will oversee all activities for the lifestyle-themed channel, including planning programming development, production and marketing, according to Dubuc. He effectively repleaces former FYI head Jana Bennett, who this past September was promoted to president and general manger of History.

Greenberg takes over a network that posted a 10% year to year ratings increase in 2016 among total viewers, based on such unscripted hit shows as Married At First Sight and Tiny House Nation.

“I am very excited to be able to bring Paul into the A+E Networks fold to head up FYI,” said Dubuc. “Paul has his finger on the pulse of the dynamic lifestyle world.  Coupled with his rich background in media and technology, I know he will lead the team to take FYI to the next level in both the linear and digital realms.”

Greenberg most recently served as CEO of millennial female-targeted pop culture digital company Nylon. Prior to that Greenberg served as president of global dance music company SFX, and before that was CEO of digital company CollegeHumor.

Greenberg’s cable experience includes stints as vice president of business operations at MTV.com and an affiliate sales position at MTV Networks.

Some of the hottest shows on cable these days are about people who have no TV.

Take Discovery Channel’s Alaskan Bush People, in which a character shows how to properly prepare grasshoppers by pulling their heads off and allowing the guts to leak out before laying them out in the sun to dry. Add a little salt and pepper, and dinner is served.

Not hungry? Viewers are lapping up the year-old show, as well as other “off-the-grid” reality series that have become very appetizing.

Shows like Alaskan Bush People, History’s Mountain Men, FYI’s Unplugged Nation and Animal Planet’s The Last Alaskans — as well as rugged competition reality shows, such as Discovery Channel’s Naked and Afraid and History’s Alone — are providing viewers with an aspirational look at an alternative lifestyle that eschews modern technology for life off the beaten path.

RELATED STORY:‘Off the Grid’ Shows, Off the Hook Numbers

Some of the characters in these reality shows are hardcore naturalists who have no need for civilization; others are average people who are seeking the simple life. Some are new at it; others have been doing it for generations.

On these shows, hunting knives are more valuable than smartphones, and cable-network programmers say it’s the fantasy of unplugging from civilization that draws viewers in droves.

Off -the-grid shows comprised nearly half of the 10 most-watched reality shows during the third quarter of 2015, according to Nielsen. Alaskan Bush People, which profiles a family born and raised in the Alaskan wilderness, was the most popular reality show of the period, averaging 3.6 million viewers.

“There’s an aspirational element to the show that really communicates with people — we’ve always had that as a backbone to the program,” Russ McCarroll, senior vice president of development and programming for History, said. “These ideas of managing to live and doing hard work in places that are beautiful are what appeal to viewers.”

WILDERNESS ESCAPISM

During times frought with threats of cyber-terrorism, economic difficulties and military conflicts, History’s Mountain Men — which follows the real-life challenges of six guys who use their survival skills to live in desolate mountain areas across the country — attracts both male and female viewers with escapist content that focuses on a simpler life where people control where and how they live, McCarroll said.

Mountain Men averaged more than 3 million viewers during its fourth and most recent season, which concluded last week.

“There’s a lot of doom and gloom stories out there, whether it’s the breakdown of the economy or the environment changing, so there’s a great appeal as to whether to sustain one’s self and to find out, if everything really did go the wrong way, could I survive on my own?” McCarroll said. “You even see that in pop culture, with the success of series like [AMC’s scripted zombie dramas] The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead. These shows appeal to the same type of thing but in a very different way.”

Animal Planet vice president of development Kurt Tondorf said a bit of romanticism surrounds the idea of men and women living off the land and killing or growing the food they eat, rather than going to the local grocery store to buy a salad or to a fast-food restaurant to purchase rotisserie chicken.

The network’s freshman series The Last Alaskans follows a handful of families allowed to live in a now-banned Artic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. Unlike other reality shows in the genre, Tondorf said, The Last Alaskans — which has been renewed for a second season — features no narration, allowing the characters in the series to literally speak for themselves and for their lifestyles.

“People feel a lack of connectedness to the wilderness, and a great curiosity for those who want to live in such close connection to it,” Tondorf said. “We’re always striving to find those kinds of authentic individuals who live lives that almost reflect the great pioneering spirit that as children we all read about.”

FYI’s Unplugged Nation puts city dwellers into an environment where they must choose whether to return to civilization or transition to a more self-sufficient way of life.

The choice for urbanites to escape the concrete jungle of corporate America for a simpler existence in a beautiful, natural environment has resonated with FYI’s core 18-to-49-year-old audience, said Gena McCarthy, senior vice president of programming and development.

Unplugged Nation averaged 230,000 viewers during its summer run, above the network’s 178,000 viewers for the third quarter, according to Nielsen.

“Unplugged living is a genuine alternative lifestyle movement,” McCarthy said. “Many people are passionate about raising their families this way as an aspirational goal. There’s a play-along factor for viewers who can fantasize about whether they could hack it in the situations and the variety of homes we share with them in the show.”

DIY Network began exploring the theme “Building Off the Grid” with one-off specials that have grown into a franchise. Episodes have covered creating cabins in wilderness areas of Alaska, using cargo bikes to haul material for a new retreat in the Rocky Mountains, building mud-and-straw homes in Washington State and constructing a 30-foot-tall yurt in rural Montana (Yurts So Good).

The Scripps Networks Interactive outlet recently picked up the six-episode series Jon & Etta Go Off the Grid, now in pre-production, which will see Jon and Etta Sepp (and their 1-year-old daughter) create an off -the-grid bison ranch on the open range in Hot Springs, Mont.

CROSS-GENDER APPEAL

Allison Page, general manager of Scripps’s DIY, HGTV (whose mainstay House Hunters franchise has also gone off the grid) and Great American Country, said DIY’s “BOTG” specials had the pleasantly surprising effect of drawing more women than expected, given the male-skewing topic.

Going off the grid fits into DIY’s and HGTV’s growing number of “fantasy” shows, featuring enticing scenarios such as building a dream home on the beach, Page said. “There are ideas that have a romantic chord to them that you dreamed of as a child, or that you wish life could be simpler in a tiny home. They are all different manifestations of what people dream of living.

“I think viewers like seeing something where they can envision themselves,” she said. “It’s that aspirational-attainable balance. I might or might not do it, but I’m seeing someone who is, that could be me.”

For viewers who want a more edgy and exhilarating dive into the genre, competition shows like Discovery’s Naked and Afraid — where two contestants, a man and a woman, are challenged to live in a harsh environment with no tools or clothes — and History’s Alone, where contestants are literally left alone, with no camera crews following them, to survive by themselves in an unforgiving terrain for as long as they can, provided plenty of thrills for viewers and high ratings for networks.

Naked and Afraid and spinoff Naked and Afraid XL drew a combined 5 million viewers this past summer, while Alone garnered 2 million viewers, according to Nielsen. "[Naked and Afraid] showcases what individual human beings are made of," said series executive producer Joseph Boyle. "Living off the land in such an extreme way really shows what kind of mettle human beings have, and the people like to see individuals put in a position where they can show the triumph of the human will and human spirit in some of the most difficult circumstances imaginable."

History’s McCarroll said he believes that the off-the-grid genre of programming will continue to thrive on television as technology continues to encroach on our everyday lives and people look for an escape to a simpler life.

‘There are a lot of people who go to work in an office or go to work in a cubicle, when in reality they’d rather be someplace that’s a little more inspiring,” he said. “We can take them there.”

Added Tondorf: “All of us get home after a hard day, and we can turn on the set to see these people who have marched to a different drummer all of their lives — there’s something about that kind of willingness to live a life that way that plays into a universal yearning that we all have.”

A+E Networks said Jana Bennett has been promoted to president and general manger of History, after previously overseeing FYI and LMN. She replaces Dirk Hoogstra, whom A+E said will "return to his roots in independent production." The company will seek a replacement for Bennett at FYI and LMN as her new appointment is immediate. Bennett, who came to A+E from the BBC in 2013, reports to A&E and History president Paul Buccieri and will be responsible for all strategic planning, programming, marketing and brand development at History and H2, A+E said.

In a release, Nancy Dubuc, President and CEO of A+E Networks, said: “Jana has one of the strongest track records building and shaping global brands – first at the BBC and now here at A+E Networks. She joined our company with the mandate to take our networks into new and exciting places and what she’s done with FYI in such a short amount of time is remarkable. HISTORY and H2 will greatly benefit from her creative prowess and steady stewardship.”

Buccieri said, “I have long been a fan of Jana’s work, particularly with what she’s done with FYI and LMN. Her vast experience in all genres of programming, marketing, distribution and digital is unparalleled and I’m very much looking forward to working with her at History.”

And Bennett, in the release, said: “I have a passion for HISTORY – where we’ve come from and where we are headed. I am thrilled that I have been asked by Nancy and Paul to lead the team that will bring one of the strongest and most respected brands across the globe into new and exciting territory.”

Of Hoogstra, Bennett said in the release: “We thank Dirk for his many contributions to HISTORY. He was the force behind some of the network’s greatest successes that helped propel HISTORY to become one of entertainment’s top brands.” 

A+E highlighted Bennett's work rebranding BIO to FYI in July 2014 (and later that year in Canada and Southeast Asian markets), achieving double-digit ratings growth and introducing new series and franchises including Married at First Sight, Arranged, Seven Year Switch and a pair of "Tiny House" shows. At LMN (rebranded from Lifetime Movie Network) she has added new original unscripted series and driven ratings gains in all day parts among women ages 25-54, A+E said.

History, meanwhile, has had some ratings disappointments, including the Memorial Day miniseries Texas Rising. For the summer, the network's primetime viewing average declined by 20%, to 1.525 million from 1.913 million, according to one analysis of Nielsen figures. A+E also has been making some executive realignments, such as broadening Lifetime executive vice president and general manager Rob Sharenow's duties to including being EVP and GM at A&E Network.

Bennett was president of BBC World Wide Networks & Global BBC iPlayer before coming to A+E Networks, which is a joint venture of Disney-ABC Television Group and Hearst Corp. Earlier in her career, she was general manager of TLC network.

A downpour of TV content is forecast for this week on the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and the devastation it unleashed on the Gulf Coast region in general and on New Orleans in particular.

In 2005, cable networks were among the first outlets to show the images of the stunning destruction to property and people’s lives in the days following the storm. Other specials through the years, such as HBO’s Emmy-winning When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts, helped chronicle the effects on life on the Gulf Coast in the immediate aftermath of the storm.

This week The Weather Channel is leading the charge with a week of Katrina-themed content, including Katrina 2065, a special that looks at likely scenarios that could take place if Katrina hit 50 years from now. On Friday, Aug. 28, TWC will air a special report, Katrina: 10 Years Later, with Al Roker and Stephanie Abrams.

Also that Friday, TV One will look at the plight of education in New Orleans a decade after Katrina as part of its daily News One Now morning news series hosted by Roland Martin.

BET on Aug. 26 will premiere a news special, Katrina 10 Years Later: Through Hell in High Water, that will chronicle the lives of a diverse group of people who survived Katrina.

On the cable news network front, CNN will debut on Aug. 24 Katrina: The Storm That Never Stopped, in which network anchor Anderson Cooper travels back to the Gulf Coast and looks to reconnect with those residents and people he spoke with a decade ago following the storm.

On the digital front, offerings will include six-part documentary series New Orleans, Here & Now, from Time Inc. and Rampante, debuting Aug. 27 on Time.com and other platforms. It’s about six people living in New Orleans 10 years after Hurricane Katrina and is the first original premium video product from Time. Weather.com on Aug. 25 will stream nine hours of continuous highlights from 2005 Katrina coverage, starting at the same time as the 2005 coverage began and featuring clips from The Weather Channel.

And in real life (apart from TV), FYI has teamed with the affordable housing non-profit Make It Right to build a solar-powered new tiny home in New Orleans for a middle school teacher. On Aug. 28, they will host a house-warming event at the new 469-square-foot domicile in New Orleans’s Lower Ninth Ward, including Tiny House Nation host John Weisbarth.

— R. Thomas Umstead

Think Tank to FCC: Charter-TWC Deal Should Sail Through

Free-market think tank The Free State Foundation has released a paper outlining the benefits to consumers and broadband of a Charter Communications-Time Warner Cable merger.

Free State senior fellow Seth Cooper said the purpose is not to endorse or oppose the deal, but instead to outline the key considerations the Federal Communications Commission should be, well, considering. But Cooper clearly likes the cut of the deal’s jib and suggests it deserves fairly smooth sailing through the FCC and DOJ deal-vetting process.

He said the potential downsides for consumers appear minimal, and maybe nonexistent, and drew a distinction between this proposed merger and Comcast’s earlier play for TWC, abandoned after the Justice Department and the FCC agreed it should not go through.

Concerns about program withholding or broadband domination don’t apply to a Charter- TWC deal, Cooper said (though he does not concede they should have deep-sixed the earlier deal, either). “Whereas Comcast-TWC would have resulted in a nationwide broadband consumer subscription market share of about 30%, Charter-TWC would result in a nationwide broadband market share of about 21%. And those are numbers for wireline broadband only. The broadband market is much bigger: 43% of all broadband connections are now mobile, with next-generation wireless networks increasingly offering consumers three or more competitive mobile video viewing options.”

In any event, he said, the FCC should not look at “static” indicators like market share or concentration, but instead view the deal in the light of free-market dynamism, a light in which the deal looks good for consumer welfare, he said.

Cooper also called for a swift review, which may already be a bridge too far. The FCC at press time had yet to launch the comment cycle or start the informal shot clock on the deal, as it is still mulling the issue of how to treat third-party access to confidential information submitted by the parties involved.

— John Eggerton

Cable networks are gearing up to recognize the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and the devastation the storm unleashed on the Gulf Coast region in general and on New Orleans in particular.

In 2005 cable networks were among the first outlets to show the images of the stunning destruction to property and people’s lives in the days following when Katrina hit New Orleans and other areas on the Gulf of Mexico Coast on Aug. 29 (it had made landfall in Florida on Aug. 25). Other specials through the years such as HBO’s Emmy winning When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts and the HBO drama series Treme helped chronicle the effects on life in the Gulf in the immediate aftermath of the storm. 

Tonight (Friday, Aug. 21) at 10 p.m. ET, Fox News Channel has slated a one-hour special, Fox News Reporting: Timeline of Hurricane Katrina – 10th Anniversary, looking at the timeline of devastating events and the roles played by local, state and federal decision makers, all the way up to President George W. Bush. Anchors and correspondents including Shepard Smith, Bill Hemmer, Greta Van Susteren, Geraldo Rivera, Rick Leventhal, Steve Harrigan and Phil Keating will be featured.

CNN on Monday, Aug. 24, will premiere Katrina: The Storm That Never Stopped, in which network anchor Anderson Cooper travels back to the Gulf Coast and looks to reconnect with those residents and people he spoke to a decade ago in the aftermath of the storm.

Al Jazeera America on Sunday night (10 p.m. ET) airs a new original documentary, Only New Orleans, by filmmaker Vassili Silovic, exploring the role of music in New Orleans and how the city used its roots in jazz, R&B, rock 'n' roll, soul, funk, reggae and hip-hop to re-build spirits after Hurricane Katrina. Anchor Joie Chen will host two special programs from New Orleans on Friday, Aug. 28, and Saturday Aug. 29, at 10 p.m. ET, including reporting from Soledad O’Brien in two hard-hit neighborhoods. And on Monday, Aug. 24, at 6:30 p.m. ET, science and technology program TechKnow investigates the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the results of $12 billion spent to rebuild, re-engineer and re-think the way New Orleans is protected.

The Weather Channel has a week of Katrina-themed content lined up, including Katrina 2065, a special that looks at likely scenarios that could take place if a similar hurricane hit 50 years from now. On Friday, Aug. 28, TWC will air a special report Katrina: 10 Years Later, with Al Roker and Stephanie Abrams. Roker and Abrams will anchor Wake Up With Al live from New Orleans that morning while Jim Cantore (pictured during Katrina) returns to Gulfport, Miss., where he covered Katrina in 2005 for live reports throughout AMHQ. TWC's “Hurricane Week” will air live and long-form programs and specials during the week, as well.

On Friday, Aug. 28, TV One will look at the plight of education in New Orleans a decade after Katrina as part of its daily News One Now morning news series hosted by Roland Martin.

BET on Wednesday, Aug. 26, will premiere a news special, Katrina 10 Years Later: Through Hell in High Water, that will chronicle the lives of a diverse group of people who survived Katrina. 

ESPN has a week of cross-platform content planned, including on digital and in ESPN The Magazine. SportsCentercoverage begins on Sunday morning (Aug. 23, debuting at 10 a.m. ET), with tributes to the city (“Dear New Orleans”) from the likes of Archie Manning and Steve Gleason. New Orleans native Stan Verrett, whose childhood neighborhood was devastated by the effects of Katrina, will host afternoon segments of SportsCenter from his hometown on Friday, Aug. 28, and contribute pieces during the week including one on his return with his mother, Dr. Joyce Verrett, to his parents’ home and neighborhood.

ESPN’s Outside the Lines will feature Hurricane Katrina-related content on Friday, Aug. 28. And the documentary Wuerffel’s Way, about former University of Florida and New Orleans Saints quarterback Danny Wuerffel leading recovery efforts for the Desire Street Academy in New Orleans, will premiere on the SEC Network on Tuesday, Sept. 1, at 9 P.M. ET. The documentary focuses on the journey of former University of Florida and New Orleans Saints quarterback Danny Wuerffel – from winning the Heisman Trophy and a National Championship to spearheading, and then leading recovery efforts for that community outreach program after the devastation of Katrina.

And in real life (apart from TV), FYI has teamed with the affordable housing non-profit Make It Right to build a solar-powered new tiny home in New Orleans for a middle school teacher. On Friday, Aug. 28, they will host a house-warming event at the new 469-square-foot domicile in the Lower 9th Ward, including Tiny House Nation host John Weisbarth.

Kent Gibbons contributed to this article.

FYI has commissioned a new reality series that looks at the most talked about food dishes on social media, the network announced Thursday.

The series, Food Porn, will be hosted by New York restauranteur Michael Chernow and will chronicle the most buzzed about food in America, There are currently more than 50 million posts on Instagram with the hashtag #foodporn, and the phrase is tagged nearly every two seconds on Twitter, according to FYI.

“People are obsessed with photographing, sharing and discussing the food they eat on social media,” said Jana Bennett, President of FYI and LMN. “FYI will be capturing this convergence of mouth-watering food and social trends in a unique and entertaining format.”

Food Porn is produced by Loud TV with Bethenny Frankel Nick Rigg, David George, Jordana Hochman, and Brent Montgomery serving as executive producers for the series.

FYI will continue to walk down the aisle with marriage-themed reality series with the summer debut of The Seven Year Switch, the network said Friday.

The series will follow four struggling marriages at the seven-year mark who switch partners for a month to help find ways to strengthen their own marraiges when they return to their spouses. according to FYI.

The series is produced by Kinetic Content, the producers of FYI's most popular series Marriage At First Sight. The network also airs a third marriage-themed series Arranged.

“FYI is continuing to pioneer social experiments with this innovative new series that follows the journey of couples who have hit a breaking point in their marriage,” said Gena McCarthy, senior vice president of programming and development for FYI in a statement. “This experiment will allow them to determine whether absence really does make the heart grow fonder.”

Looking to capitalize on the success of its top rated reality series Married At First Sight, FYI in January will launch two marriage-themed reality series.

The network will debut a Married At First Sight spinoff Married At First Sight: The First Year, which will follow the lives of two couples married on the original series as they celebrate their first year as a married couple, said network officials.

The second series, Mikie Saves The Date, follows wedding planner Mikie Russo as he creates uniquely personalized and visually arresting weddings for his clients.

A+E Networks' FYI  channnel will add its TV Everywhere content to Apple TV devices, the company announced Monday.

Apple TV users can now access FYI's free, subscriber-authenticated TV Everywhere content, which offers full episodes and exclusive clips of such network original shows as Married at First Sight, Tiny House Nation, Born to Style, and Epic Meal Empire, said network officials. 

FYI joins A&E®, HISTORY® and Lifetime®, which launched this past April on Apple TV, said A+E officials.

A+E Networks is converting the BIO channel over to lifestyle-based FYI tonight at 10 p.m. ET with a sneak-peek special with clips from nine of the network's planned new series.

One of the previously-announced new primetime series on the 65-million-subscriber network, The Feed, a food-centric talk show featuring celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson, culinary expert Gail Simmons and comedian Max Silvestri, has been pushed back to later this summer, the network said. It had been slated to launch on Saturday, July 12. Heather DiRubba, senior director of publicity for FYI and LMN, said FYI would provide updates on The Feed soon.

The first new original series for FYI will be Married at First Sight, a format adapted from a Danish program of the same name, in which three couples agree to get legally married the moment they first meet, having been paired up by four experts (pictured, left to right: Pepper Schwartz, Greg Epstein, Dr. Logan Levkoff and Dr. Joseph Cilona) based on scientific matchmaking. It debuts Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET and is scheduled to have 10 one-hour episodes and a one-hour casting special.

In all, six new primetime series are scheduled to debut on the network in July. 

Tonight's special, FYI: A First Look, will feature clips from The Feed, Epic Meal Empire, World Food Championships, B.O.R.N to Style, Tiny House Nation, Rowhouse Showdown, Lost in Love, Best in Bridal and Married at First Sight. The Feed's Max Silvestri hosts the special, which also will include Gail Simmons and Marcus Samuelsson; Cherry Healey (Lost in Love); Harley Morenstein (Epic Meal Empire); Jonathan Bodrick, Brandon Hood and JJ  Langan (B.O.R.N. to Style); John Wiesbarth (Tiny House Nation); Carter Oosterhouse and Kathy Kuo (Rowhouse Showdown) and Dr. Logan Levkoff (Married at First Sight).