More On Mario’s Departure

So ABC has more news on Mario Batali’s departure from Food Network.

“Molto Mario” means “a lot of Mario,” but fans of the Italian-American master chef Mario Batali will be seeing much less of him on Food Network this season.

The network has decided to stop airing “Molto Mario,” the program Batali began hosting a decade ago but which despite regular reruns has not been in production for nearly three years, a Food Network spokeswoman told ABCNEWS.com. Batali will, however, continue to appear on “Iron Chef America.”

…

“There was an acknowledgement by both Food Network and Batali that they didn’t really need each other any more,” said Ben Leventhal, editor of the food blog “Eater.” “Batali is more than just a TV chef. He’s a personality who has written cookbooks, owns restaurants and has a deal with NASCAR. Food Network helped him get as big as he is, and he helped them get big too. … It is the right time for him to part ways with the Food Network. It is expensive to keep a guy like Batali, and while I can’t imagine he has poor ratings, it comes down to how much they can afford.”

Whatever.

The fact it wasn’t announced earlier so the fans could prepare, tells me there is more to the story than what they’re telling. Doesn’t matter to me much anyway.

I only watched Food Network for two reasons and one just left. I did notice however that they mentioned he would still be appearing on Iron Chef America. I bet that’s only until the episodes which are already taped have run out.

[Hat Tip: Serious Eats]