Snob Appeal Hits the Airwaves.

Oh, James, bring me my Cognac and do turn on the telly. I wish to watch some Fine Living.

Yes, the Scripps Network is launching its Fine Living channel in mid-2001, aiming for the 20 million most affluent households in the country. Scripps will primarily stalk analog carriage for the channel, with leftovers tossed onto a digital plate for the opulently-challenged.

Yeah, the hell with the riff raff languishing in zeros and ones.

Living wants to serve a rich diet of fine dining, personal transportation, technology, homes and real estate, exotic travel and personal finance.

But "it's not a luxury channel," insists Susan Packard, …