Under Smith’s purview, Cooking Channel already is showing signs it will surpass its successes of 2015, which was a banner year as the network’s most-watched, highest-rated, and youngest-skewing year to date. So far in 2016, Cooking Channel has already seen its highest-rated first quarter, with adult ratings growing 2 percent over 2015. Appropriately enough, for the past few years Smith has served on the board of Food Bank New York. “I truly admire their dedication and commitment to filling the meal gap that leaves approximately 1.4 million New Yorkers—mainly women, children, seniors, the working poor and people with disabilities—dependent on soup kitchens and food pantries,” he says.
