Discovery : FOOD NETWORK REVEALS WHAT’S IN AND WHAT’S OUT FOR FOURTH OF JULY CELEBRATIONS

NEW YORK - June 10, 2019 - Fourth of July is right around the corner and Food Network is unveiling the major trends of this year's holiday gatherings. The survey, conducted in May 2019 by Food Network and Open Mind Strategy, found that nearly half (47%) of Americans plan to attend a party or barbeque and 30% plan to host one. Food, beverage and decoration purchases will be in high gear with approximately 26 million Americans expecting to spend $100 or more in preparation.

'The Fourth of July is a holiday full of traditions - fireworks, parades and our favorite, barbeques,' said Courtney White, President, Food Network. 'More Americans this year are craving burgers over hot dogs, smoky hearty flavors are on trend, and easy-does-it ice cream is on the menu for the Fourth.'

Food Network surveyed the nation to uncover Americans' preferences for food, revealing what's hot and what's not on this year's Fourth of July spreads:

WHAT'S IN	WHAT'S OUT
Hamburgers Half of Americans (50%) would choose a burger on their plate vs. hot dogs (10%) If they could only have one food item on their plate, 2 in 5 would pick a burger	Hot Dogs 21% of Americans say they're sick of seeing hot dogs on a Fourth of July spread 15% would be happy with never seeing a hot dog served on the Fourth of July again
Potato Sides 1 in 3 selected potato salad as the preferred side followed by potato chips (17%)	Veggie-Based Sides 13% say corn or pasta salad is their favorite Only 10% chose grilled veggies as their choice of side and 5% chose green salad
Ice Cream Ice cream reigns king of Fourth of July desserts with 33% in favor	Popsicles Forget the firecracker-shaped popsicles, only 11% of Americans chose popsicles as their favorite dessert

But, Americans aren't only focused on the food this year. In fact, 69% of adults think the Fourth of July is a time to party, with 2 in 5 who think drinking is the best part of the holiday and more than 1 in 3 say they drink more on the day than other days of the year; 52% saying their friends/partners do, too.

'When it comes to beverages this summer, we've found that Americans are looking for more light and refreshing options,' said Deb Puchalla, SVP of Digital Programming & Video for Food Network and Cooking Channel at Discovery Digital Studios. 'We've seen an uptick in wine-based drinks on FoodNetwork.com, so partygoers can expect to see Lambrusco in sangria, Amaro in spritzes and Moscato in cocktails.'

For food and beverage recipe ideas on what to serve or bring to your holiday party, visit www.foodnetwork.com.

SURVEY METHODOLOGY

This survey was conducted online by Open Mind Strategy on behalf of Food Network, fielded May 29 - May 31, 2019, among 2,196 nationally representative respondents.

ABOUT FOOD NETWORK

FOOD NETWORK is a unique lifestyle network, website and magazine that connects viewers to the power and joy of food. The network strives to be viewers' best friend in food and is committed to leading by teaching, inspiring, empowering and entertaining through its talent and expertise. Food Network is distributed to nearly 100 million U.S. households and draws over 46 million unique web users monthly. Since launching in 2009, Food Network Magazine's rate base has grown 13 times and is the No. 2 best-selling monthly magazine on the newsstand, with 13.5 million readers. Food Network is owned by Discovery, Inc., a global leader in real life entertainment spanning 220 countries and territories; the portfolio also includes Discovery Channel, HGTV, TLC, Investigation Discovery, and OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network.

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