Since it doesn’t look like the Food Network has any plans to welcome her back, Paula Deen has decided to launch her own network, which will start this fall. The Paula Deen Network will be available exclusively online.
The content will be available on PaulaDeen.com, with registration starting in July. If you wait to register in September, you will receive a 14-day free trial. However, if you pre-register, you get a chance to enter in a contest to win a trip to Savannah and see Deen with a live audience.
“I’m so excited about my new online Network and can’t wait to show everyone what we’ve been working on,” Deen said in a statement. “We’re going to have so much fun being together and cooking up some wonderful new and classic dishes. Y’all can get my recipes, tips and cooking anytime you want – this is for you. I can’t wait to crank up the oven and get cooking for the people I love: my family, my friends and my fans!”
Deen told The Wall Street Journal that she did get offers to return to television, but she decided online was the best opportunity for her.
“IPads are so much lighter to tote around than a TV,” Deen told the WSJ. “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.”
Deen is still trying to put her career back together after last year’s damaging n-word controversy, which saw her lose her Food Network job. She began a new company, called Paula Deen Ventures, which received a $100 million investment from Najafi Cos. While part of that will be used for the network, she’s also planning on using $20 million to build a new restaurant in Tennessee, near Dolly Parton’s Dollywood theme park.
The Paula Deen Network will launch in September.
image courtesy of Roger Wong/INFphoto.com