I’ve long maintained that nature abhors a vacuum when it comes to over-the-top content, and believe that content owners who don’t take full advantage of the opportunity to get their wares in front of consumers stand to—eventually—lose out to those who do.

Want a sure recipe to lose audience, especially younger viewers? Hide content behind a pay wall, ignore OTT, and watch your audience dissolve… especially your audience in the 18- to 35-year-old segment.

One content owner who isn’t playing wallflower at the OTT dance is Food Network. On the linear TV side, the cable network offers viewers a steady diet of cooking shows, travel shows tied to food and reality TV with food and cooking at the core. But FN also has dabbled online, going to YouTube in search of its Next Food Network Star, and even a foodie comedy (that’s actually solid) called Fodder.

Now, according to reports, Food Network is talking to YouTube about a new professional channel that would include exclusive content, in addition to supplementary content to its cable component. That’s right, YouTube.

Food Network execs expect the production costs to be lower than those for their liner channel--significantly lower—they told GigaOm.

But, the benefits could be significant as well as they maintain contact with a vital segment of the audience.

To paraphrase a (very) over-used phrase: If you stream it they will watch.