Discovery will rebrand its DIY Network into a still-unnamed Chip and Joanna Gaines channel in the summer of 2020. The highly-anticipated network, which will also be an app and later a subscription streaming service, will be available in about 52 million households at launch.
Chip and Joanna Gaines will serve as chief creative officers and current HGTV President Allison Page will serve as president of the new joint venture. Page will report directly to Discovery CEO David Zaslav. She will continue in her current role at HGTV until a replacement is named.
The channel will feature long-form programming that centers around community, home, garden, food, wellness, entrepreneurialism and design. It will also be home to the complete library of “Fixer Upper,” which aired in first run on HGTV for four years and continues to this day in reruns. “Fixer Upper” was among HGTV’s biggest series. In its final season, the show averaged 2.9 million viewers and a 0.8 ratings in the 25-54 target demo.
The over-the-top product will include both live and on-demand content, including new short and long-form content inspired by Magnolia, the home improvement power-couple’s lifestyle brand, and curated by the Gaineses.
DIY averaged 208,000 viewers in prime time in the first quarter of the year, down 27 percent compared to 286,000 during the same period last year.
The news comes ahead of Discovery’s upfront presentation to media buyers and their clients at Alice Tully Hall at Manhattan's Lincoln Center on Wednesday evening. But the Gaineses' channel won’t be available to buy in this year’s ad haggle.
On Wednesday, Discovery also announced a new deal with YouTube TV to make its channels like Food Network, TLC and Animal Planet, among others, available on YouTube's live and on-demand subscription service.
[from http://bit.ly/2VwvxLm]
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