WebProNews

Hearst Magazines and MSN are partnering to launch a new food Web site called Delish.com.

The two companies say Delish will launch in the fall of 2008 and will be its own brand controlled by Hearst Magazines Digital Media and distributed on MSN.

Under the terms of the deal Hearst will be responsible for the design, development and editorial content of the site. MSN will handle the advertising and the distribution of the site's content via the MSN network.

MSN and Hearst expect that visitors to Delish will push the site into the top 10 food-related destinations online.

"Our Digital Media unit has been working with MSN for several years, and both teams see this as an opportunity to add further depth to what has proven to be a very successful relationship," said John Loughlin, executive vice president and general manager, Hearst Magazines.

Delish will offer visitors recipes, food articles, photo galleries, and video. Along with recipes the site will feature how-to's and content that focuses on entertainment and pop culture that has ties to food.

"It is estimated that there are currently 60 million unique visitors to food-related Web sites," said Jeff Dossett, executive producer and general manager, MSN. "With a dedicated sales staff on the MSN side and Hearst's notable expertise in both Web site and content development, we are confident that Delish.msn.com will be a leader in this growing category."