​After two-and-a-half years in business, Scripps Networks Interactive’s Cooking Channel is setting itself apart from its sister Food Network.

Though ratings remain low for Cooking overall, the channel has found success with original series such as “Extra Virgin” and “My Grandmother’s Ravioli.” For this year’s advance buying season, Scripps has elected to sell Cooking Channel‘s inventory separately from Food Network’s, hoping to get advertisers to see it as a meal unto itself. Smaller advertisers have expressed enthusiasm about the development, as Cooking’s rates for guaranteed inventory are much lower than Food’s, a top-20 network.

Now, Scripps is looking to improve Cooking’s ratings through wider distribution and more original programming.

Read more at Adweek.

Brief Take: At $46.6 million, Cooking’s projected 2013 ad revenue is a fraction of Food Network’s ($625 million). But Food Network itself has defied expectations with Emmy-nominated originals and an advertiser demand that has yet to hit a ceiling. If there’s any reason to believe a niche channel about cooking can find success, it’s that a niche channel about food already did.

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