#WFAE cancels ‘Splendid Table, ’ ‘America’s Test Kitchen’

In a shakeup of its weekend programming lineup, WFAE announced Thursday that it’s shutting off the lights in the kitchen and canceling its Sunday-afternoon block of national food shows, “The Splendid Table” and “America’s Test Kitchen.”

Dale Spear, the station’s content and program director, said the move is part of a shift away from “hobby shows” that focus an hour or more on a single subject. With the growth in podcasts that focus on single subjects like food, radio shows on cooking are losing ground.

“It’s an older way of presenting shows,” he said. “It just didn’t have traction.”

The move is part of a shakeup of the whole Saturday/Sunday programming. On Saturdays, the trivia show “Ask Me Another” will move from the evening to noon, replacing “Says You.” In the evening, the station will add “Bullseye With Jesse Thorn.” On Sundays, “Fresh Air” and “Only a Game” will air at 3 and 4 p.m. replacing “The Splendid Table” and “America’s Test Kitchen.”

They kept pusing toward a cooking show. Not everyone cooks, but everyone eats.

Dale Spear, WFAE program director

Spear expects complaints from food-show fans. He actually was there at the creation of “The Splendid Table” -- it was launched while he was at Public Radio International in Minnesota. He says he had always encouraged producers to make the shows more about eating than cooking, which he thinks limits their appeal.

“They kept pushing toward a cooking show,” he said. “Not everyone cooks, but everyone eats.”

Spear says what gets the strongest audience now are magazine shows, like “Morning Edition,” that cover a lot of subjects, rather than single-subject shows.

Spear says WFAE will keep its food-focused blog, WFAEats.org. and the Mike Collins’ show, “Charlotte Talks,” will continue to do occasional food-focused shows. Food subjects are popular, he said. It’s just that cooking shows aren’t.

“If the audience was there (on Sunday afternoon), I wouldn’t have touched it,” he said.