At the end of last week I happened upon a post at TechFlash, a blog about Seattle's technology scene, that resonated with several themes that I've been digging into recently at VideoNuze. The post, "Hunger for recipes lifts Seattle sites," showcased October traffic stats just released by comScore for the Food category.

The post's angle that a number of Seattle-based sites landed in the top 25 was less interesting to me than the composition of the list itself and what it may suggest about how things could unfold as broadband video makes its way all the way to the TV.

AllRecipes.com, a site owned by Reader's Digest, landed in the #1 spot (possibly for the first time, though I can't confirm), just ahead of the powerhouse cable channel Food Network's web site. In a recent interview TechFlash did with AllRecipes.com's president Lisa Sharples, she said that AllRecipes.com is "really a social media site" and also that it is "very much a user-generated content site." This focus on the site's users differs from the Food Network's on-air programming approach of creating and popularizing personalities (e.g. Emeril Lagasse, Rachel Ray, Bobby Flay, etc.) that has driven strong ratings and brand awareness. To be fair, the network's web site, FoodNetwork.com also has a heavy recipe orientation and a strong emphasis on community.

As the online food category has expanded, all of this has co-existed well. But last week I was asked a question a number of times in the wake of my "Cable Industry Closes Ranks" post: if cable networks bias toward their cable operator customers, thereby limiting their broadband activities, just how hard would it be for online competitors to replicate their video franchises as broadband makes its way all the way to the TV?

That's admittedly a tough one to answer. And to be sure Food Network is hardly a sitting duck; it is one of the most progressive of the cable networks in terms of how much it has embraced online and the amount of video it already puts on its site. Still, one does wonder how difficult it would be in reality, for an AllRecipes.com say, to simply set up a studio, audition some of its gazillions of users who aspire to be the next Rachel Ray, start its own serialized programs around them, and begin competing more directly with Food Network?

In fact, a post I did about back in September about the #21 site, TasteOfHome.com (also owned by Reader's Digest), described how the company has set up its own test kitchen and is shooting video of its chefs preparing user-submitted recipes. It also combines these videos with others into pre-programmed playlists. I'm guessing that, as broadband-to-the-TV crystallizes further, we'll see more of this kind of activity from others players in the food category.

Taken to the extreme, one further wonders if, at some point well down the road, cable operators like Comcast would weigh making a deal with Reader's Digest to carry these sites' "channels," in lieu of an incumbent like Food Network if the new alternative had a proven audience and importantly, would cost Comcast a lot less in monthly affiliate fees.

Meanwhile, one other thing that jumped out of the October traffic stats: a site called Delish.com, a JV between Hearst Magazines and MSN, rocketed to the #5 position, with 5.2 million monthly visitors, though it only launched on Sept. 23rd. Its ascendancy speaks to how dynamic the food category is, how quickly user loyalty can shift and how highly-trafficked sites like MSN can help create new online franchises.

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