She’s back and she’s in charge this time around. Paula Deen is hitting the web with a new network coming in September.
After last summer’s fall from grace over a racial controversy, Paula Deen is back in a big way. The TV personality is going to take her cooking talents to the web with her own subscriber-based network.
The network will feature videos of the former Food Network star and her guests cooking in front of a studio audience. The studio will be based near her home in Savannah, Georgia.
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Deen will own the digital network and it will be found on her PaulaDeen.com site. She also managed to get $100 million backing from a private equity investment firm, Najafi Companies.
The chef explained to The Wall Street Journal why she’s taking her show to the web instead of television.
She said, “After much research and talking to our fans, this is what they wanted. They wanted to be able to watch me anytime, anywhere, any place. iPads are so much lighter to tote around than a TV. In a network program, you only have 22 minutes. The fans are going to see things they have never seen before. They are going to see all of me.”
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To support her new network, Deen is currently on a 20-city tour across the South this summer. To make strong profits on her venture, she needs to attract subscribers.
Deen doesn’t have to worry too much, though — investor Jahm Najafi is taking the pressure off the talented cook.
He shared, “We’re not trying to figure out how to maximize profits this year, or next year, or even in four or five years.”
The network is scheduled to launch in September.
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