December 8 , 2009

Rebirth of Food Network Canada website incorporates industry-first interactive platform
New site gives users the ability to create a profile and engage with a community of fellow foodies

Food Network Canada's companion website foodnetwork.ca is celebrating its re-birth.

The newly redesigned site features a fresh look, a new interactive community for members, improved recipe search functions, a heftier video library available for streaming and more extensive advertising opportunities. Foodnetwork.ca is the first food-related website in Canada to incorporate how-to videos from on-air personalities to accompany select recipes, and is also the first Canwest broadcast site to introduce a full membership system. The new platform is not only more user-friendly but more interactive and personal, presenting users the ability to create a profile and engage with a community of fellow foodies.

Brand new to the site and never before seen on any other Canadian lifestyle website is streaming of celebrity chef how-to video clips paired with select recipes. When selecting a desired recipe on the site, users can learn to make it just like a Food Network chef with the help of how-to video clips.

The new membership system allows members to save recipes to their profile and share their favourites within the community. Members can rate recipes on the site, swap recipes and tips, upload their own photos of recipes and post comments on everything from recipes to Food Network series and celebrity chefs. The membership community is also able to follow foodnetwork.ca through social media sites including: Facebook, Twitter, You Tube, FriendFeed and Flickr.

"Our aspiration for the redesigned foodnetwork.ca site is to provide users a platform not only to find the most inspiring and entertaining lifestyle content available online but to build a community to share feedback and experiences with others," said Paul Burns, VP Digital Media, Canwest Broadcasting. "The new foodnetwork.ca has taken a massive step forward in design, innovation, exclusive content, and community features. Our goal was to set the standard for what a premium lifestyle content experience should be - I think we've done that and more."

The latest opportunities for advertisers on foodnetwork.ca include: ad media placement in more high impact locations, advertorials, custom sponsorship packages including video, recipe, TV show and seasonal guide sponsorships and an extensive video library of content with pre-roll video available.

The newly redesigned site is being promoted through on-air promotional spots and bumpers running on Food Network Canada, online advertising across Canwest sites and AOL Advertising.com ad network, on Food Network Canada's Facebook and Twitter pages, in the foodnetwork.ca newsletter and through ad media within Food Network Canada's BlackBerry(R) Smartphone app.

Log on to www.foodnetwork.ca to find out what's cooking.