Digital shack-up

Now let's see what they cook up.

Scripps Networks Interactive chief Ken Lowe and Demand Media bossRichard Rosenblatt are in talks about a potential partnership that could unite their respective TV and Web properties to create a digital lifestyle powerhouse.

The two media players -- one strong in cable TV, the other online -- have a big personality in common: Rachael Ray. In March, the celebrity chef, whose cooking show airs on Scripps' Food Network, signed a deal with Demand's eHow.com food channel to act as its chief creative force.

Ray joined Demand's other big-name partners, including Lance Armstrong and Tyra Banks, who also create "co-branded" content for eHow. In concert with her cooking pals, Ray is creating professional how-to videos that rival those at Scripps' FoodNetwork.com.

Food Network

Demand is already the online partner for Rachael Ray of the Food Network.

What's more, Scripps houses HGTV and DIY Channel, while Demand's online content channels are also heavily focused on how-to advice, home and garden, family and food.

"Scripps is big in home and garden, so is Demand," said one source close to the talks. "Scripps has Rachael Ray offline, Demand has Rachael for the Internet. They are both focused on verticals and are discussing a partnership."

The talks between the two execs, who were spotted deep in discussion at the Allen & Co. media conference last week in Sun Valley, Idaho, are in the early stages, sources said.

A Scripps spokeswoman told The Post, "[Ken Lowe] has dinner with all kinds of individuals at events like that and you can't read anything into it." Demand declined comment.

While the talks are wide-ranging, an outright acquisition of Demand seems unlikely given Scripps' recent $1 billion stock-buyback plan. Scripps has been seen as an acquisition target for big media rivals but recently has said it is not for sale.

Needham & Co. media analyst Laura Martin said it was unlikely that Scripps would make a big digital acquisition given its experience with Shopzilla, which it sold for $165 million in June to a private-equity firm. Scripps reportedly bought the shopping-comparison service in 2005 for $525 million.

Scripps, however, does have a giant library of lifestyle content that has rarely seen the light of day beyond its own TV and Web properties.

The Cincinnati-based cable company is doing well in the TV arena, but Demand Media's lifestyle content is pulling more traffic than Scripps' Web properties.

According to ComScore, Scripps Networks' average total unique visitors for June were 22.5 million compared with 60 million for Demand Media. Scripps' FoodNetwork.com attracted 12.7 million, while Demand's eHow Food and Drink channel drew 5.5 million.

Scripps' two home-maintenance focused sites, HGTV and DIY, attracted 4.2 million and 1.9 million, respectively. Demand's eHow home and garden channel took in 13.3 million users.