The Food Network, controlled by Cincinnati's E.W. Scripps Co., set a record for subscriber growth in August while the company's HGTV.com Web site drew a higher percentage of adult women in June than any TV Web site.

        The Food Network posted 4.1 million new subscriber households in August because the cable television division of AT&T offered the network in Seattle, Pittsburgh and San Francisco.

        The network devoted to cooking shows reaches 66 million subscribers in the United States.

        “If you're looking for content that would attract females, Home & Garden (HGTV) and the Food Network make complete sense,” said Timothy E. Stautberg, vice president of communications and investor relations at Scripps. “When AT&T launched us in those larger markets, we got a nice lift.”

        Food Network grew faster than its closest cable contender, ESPN Classic, by about 440,000 subscriber households.

        Home & Garden Television and the Food Network anchor a cable TV division that delivered $314 million in revenue and $69 million in operating cash flow for Scripps last year.

        Researcher Jupiter Media Metrix also determined that HGTV.com in June beat all television Web sites, including major properties like ABC.com, among women 18 and older. Almost 62 percent of its visitors were women, compared with almost 59 percent at No. 2 ABC.

        “Many of the topics we cover — home and gardens, decorating and design, arts and crafts and collectibles — have a strong appeal to a female audience,” said Jim Sexton, editorial director of HGTV.com, based in Knoxville, Tenn.

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