BordersTV: Borders Kitchen

By JULIETTE ROSSANT Where are you going to get your TV food programs? Banks now have televisions so you can watch CNN while waiting in line for the next teller. They join barbers, airports, bars and sports clubs who all use screens to attract, entertain or subdue their customers. But what's on the screen? The same old stuff you can get at home, right? Wrong. Go into your neighborhood Borders (the one that has been spiffed up) and you can watch Borders TV. The content is all Borders all the time. You might see the same programs on YouTube or MySpace, but you won't catch the programs on the Food Network or Bravo. What is BordersTV all about? Book Entertainment. For chef authors, BordersTV is one more venue to promote your restaurants, products, consulting, catering lines and your latest book. That is, if you are lucky enough to get on BordersTV. So far, BordersTV, which launched initially in September 2006, and re-launches in February, has one food program called Borders Kitchen. Lidia Bastianich and Nigella Lawson have both filmed segments. Borders Kitchen plans to make four more segments next year, with unconfirmed celebrity chefs like Mario Batali and Jamie Oliver. Borders Advice for Living includes advice from authors on wines and entertaining. Nigella flew over from the UK after completing filming her own FN show. She spent 36 hours (including getting to and from the US) filming a program about shopping and her favorite products, and her new book and why she wrote it. BordersMedia distributes the material through emails, on TV screens in their stores, and other media outlets like blogs, and online video sites. Borders has 22 million Borders Rewards members – the company’s free loyalty program, who also can receive Borders TV clips. In stores you can watch shorter pieces about how to choose an avocado or other how to clips, or you can download the full episode. The idea is to keep that Borders customer in the store – thinking, perusing and buying books. BordersTV is in 60 stores now, and they plan to expand to 250 stores in the next few months and then continue to push to all Borders locations, according to Rich Fahle, VP Content, who heads up BordersMedia. Borders is an entertainment destination. First, it was about browsing in our stores, and then we added cafes. We added to the entertainment experiences. We added events, then we emailed customers sending them expert comment and interviews, providing recommendations. We are expanding the model of entertainment that is the core of the Borders experience. Our customers are looking for entertainment. The key is to not run advertisements, but to create an entertainment network that is real. Borders plans to not only feature Food Network talent (like Nigella, Mario, and Jamie) but also develop their own stars as hosts and interviewers on the programs. Fahle told Super Chef "Borders is an entertainment network no different from the Food Network," but focused on different content around book entertainment. If you are a chef, and you haven't made it on Top Chef or The Next Food Network Star or Iron Chef, here is another opportunity. Maybe that cookbook you are planning to write will actually sell. Previous articles: [Food Television - complete] [Chefs & Branding - complete] Technorati Tags: superchefblog, Juliette Rossant, super chef, celebrities, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine, blogging, food blogging, Borders, Borders Television --> back to Super Chef