SAINSBURY AND CARLTON AGREE TO BIN TASTE NETWORK

BROADCASTER Carlton Communications and supermarket operator J Sainsbury have announced the binning of their joint television and internet venture Taste Network.
The companies’ partnership venture planned to bring together Sainsbury and Carlton's food internet sites alongside the existing Carlton Food Network television channel in a 50:50 venture. However, sales for the ambitious cross-media venture set up in May 200 have failed to produce sufficient revenue either from either advertising or e-commerce to make the venture viable after 11 months in operation.
Matthew Kearney, Director of Business Development at Carlton Communications, said:
"Taste was an innovative project but has suffered from weaker than expected growth in advertising and e-commerce revenues in a generally difficult market for niche channels. Accordingly, we have agreed to dissolve the joint venture and return the constituent activities to the parent companies".
Around £10 million is believed to have been invested in the joint venture incorporating a website at www.taste.co.uk and the TasteTV television channel fronted by television presenter Anthea Turner.
Angela Megson, Sainsbury's E-commerce and Business Development Director, said:
"We have jointly agreed that we should take back the assets that we invested rather than begin to invest capital when the market conditions are no longer right for testing our concept. We will merge the taste.co.uk website assets with those of Sainsbury's current websites."
Carlton are understood to be reviewing the future of the television channel. It is reported that some 20 jobs are to be lost due to the folding of the venture which formed the UK’s first food and drink oriented television and internet channel.
The demise of the venture is the latest failure in cross-media interactive platforms formulated during the dotcom revolution.
The failure is sure to throw doubt on the viability other recent cross-promotional channels such as ‘The Wellbeing Channel’ Granada’s joint venture with Boots.
(SP)