Comedian Joan Rivers has made a name for herself with catty fashion commentary, but the network she represents has fallen out of style with local cable subscribers.
What's more, her replacement wears a food-splattered smock and billowing white hat.
CableOne is "kicking things up a notch" -- reintroducing Emeril Lagasse and his fellow Food Network chefs to Fargo-Moorhead cable subscribers.
The network will replace E! on Channel 45 starting Wednesday. All subscribers will see the change when they're channel-surfing.
General manager Scott Geston said E! failed to draw strong viewership locally. E!'s contract expired earlier this year, and CableOne opted to replace the entertainment network with one for which viewers had a bigger appetite.
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"We asked for input from customers, and folks who did respond responded in a resounding 'add Food,' " Geston said.
Programming on the Food Network includes "The Naked Chef," "Sweet Dreams," "Emeril Live" and "Iron Chef."
Based in Los Angeles, E! airs shows such as "Howard Stern," "Celebrity Profile" and "The E! True Hollywood Story."
"The type of programs you see on E! more and more are biographies,"Geston said. "The biography can be found lot of other places."
Subscribers to CableOne's Digital Value Pack will notice two additional programming changes.
The Speed Channel, an auto and motorcycle racing network, will replace CNN-SI on Channel 304. National Geographic's network will debut on Channel 327.
Readers can reach Forum reporter Andrea Berninger at (701) 241-5533
