Hearst Television Inc. is filming a reality cooking competition, one of several streaming series to come in Sacramento, for its nascent Very Local streaming service.
The show — "Plate It, Sacramento!" — will debut in the winter featuring local high-profile chefs putting their spin on a recipe.
“Very Local is about celebrating community connections,” Laura Ling, director of programming for streaming video services with Hearst, told the Business Journal. "You don’t have to go to Food Network to see amazing chefs. We are going to be elevating Sacramento chefs to celebrity status."
The Very Local programming is being created in local markets by local film crews. Hearst has television properties in 26 markets across the country, including Boston, New Orleans and Pittsburgh.
In Sacramento, Hearst owns NBC affiliate KCRA Channel 3 and MyNetworkTV affiliate KQCA 58.
Some of the streaming content could end up on the local stations in the future, but that’s not the aim of Very Local, Ling said. On the other hand, broadcast news in local markets can be accessed through the streaming service by people across the country.
She anticipates people will stream local news from markets where national news occurs, and that people from Sacramento, for example, will stream local news even though they may have moved elsewhere in the country.
Hearst launched Very Local in September last year as a free, ad-supported service. Most of the programming will only be streamed, so it won’t become part of regular programming for local TV stations, Ling said.
Pittsburgh and Boston were among the first markets to get streaming content this year.
Some of the cities have existing shows called “Eat Play Stay.” The Pittsburgh market has “Plate It, Pittsburgh!” and another show called “What’s on the Menu.”
Much of the Very Local programming is lifestyle-oriented fare with an emphasis on local attractions, food and entertainment.
In addition to the cooking competition, the Sacramento market will also get a version of "Eat Play Stay," which will look at local getaways, and "Maddy & Dixie Take Sactown," where local social media bloggers offer their takes on local offerings.
The Sacramento scenes are being filmed by locally based full production crews.
