Food Network has introduced an omni-screen commerce experience that will serve its fans thousands of contextual products from its programming to help viewers connect more closely to their favorite shows.

The commerce experience will offer product from more than 50 shows and 30 celebrity chefs and hosts. It is available on television as well as Web, mobile and tablet.

“This provides a really great value to their viewers,” said Mike Fitzsimmons, CEO of Delivery Agent. “It is a thing that TV viewers have been looking for and asking for in a long time, to make it easy to purchase items related to shows they are watching.

“A second key driver is the ability to monetize their content,” he said.

“The third thing is around data. They get unbelievable amounts of user data about how they are using smartphones and tablets to engage with content and purchase.”

The Food Network brand reaches consumers across print, online and television. It is available in more than 100 million homes in the United States and sees up to 35 million unique users each month on its Web site.

The media company partnered with Delivery Agent for the new offering.

New revenue stream
The new online store, FoodNetworkStore.com, was developed using responsive Web design to reach consumers across multiple screens.

Available items will include a chef’s jacket from Chopped, cookbooks from the network’s chefs and the garbage bowl with Rachel Ray’s 30 Minute Meals.

Consumers can pay with several methods, including PayPal and Visa’s V.me.

There are also social sharing functions.

Media companies are increasingly looking to offer multi-screen commerce experiences to increase driver loyalty while adding a new revenue stream.

Industry data shows that more than 80 percent of mobile users are engaging their device while in the living room watching TV.

Synchronized messaging
For platforms such as Delivery Agent that enable viewers to engage with and transact directly from advertisements and television shows through Web, mobile and television applications, mobile is playing a key role in driving consumer engagement.

“Mobile is our fastest growing segment for engagement and transactions,” Mr. Fitzsimmons said.

“Mobile is fertile ground for engagement with content and for making a purchase,” he said.  “It is massively important because of the amount of friction it takes out of the experience for the consumer.”

Later this year, The Food Network offering will add the ability to identify what consumers are watching on TV, enabling the network to push out messages to a mobile screen that are synchronized with what they are watching.

“Many consumers are now using their smartphones as their remote control,”  Mr. Fitzsimmons said. “That is another great opportunity for us to think about interesting ways to connect with consumers.

Final Take
Chantal Tode is associate editor on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York