HGTV raises the roof
With help from the ‘Property Brothers,’ left, the cable channel has soared to the top of the ratings,
A Property Brothers kitchen remodel in upstate New York. A Tiny House Hunters search on Hawaii’s Big Island. A Fixer Upper barn conversion — to a “barndominium” — in Waco, Texas. More TV viewers than ever are turning to HGTV, the lifestyle cable network built on real estate and home renovation.
HGTV is the top-rated entertainment channel on cable this month in prime time, a remarkable climb for a network that ranked 16th overall in 2012. Since January, it has averaged a fifthplace 1.7 million viewers, up 13% from 2015 in its fourth consecutive year of growth, at a time when many top cable networks are in decline. And all without a boost from scripted series, sports events or awards shows.
HGTV doesn’t appear to rely on any one series but a genre of unscripted programming — real estate and home renovation — it largely has to itself. Some popular titles: Fixer Upper (averaging 4.6 million viewers this year), Flip or Flop (2.8 million), Brother vs. Brother (2.6 million) and Property Brothers (2.2 million). “That is the magic,” says Allison Page, general manager of HGTV, DIY Network and Great American Country for Scripps Networks Interactive. “There’s a sense that if you like one show, you’re probably going to like the next one you try. There’s just a fascination with the genre.”
HGTV isn’t just about new homes, dream homes or vacation homes. Even in bad financial times, the network has thrived.
“They were able to move quickly during the last recession when the housing market was collapsing,” says Derek Baine, cable analyst for SNL Kagan. “All of a sudden, these shows on buying new homes were not going to fly because nobody could buy a house, so they kind of got into more renovation-type shows. ... They were able to pivot quickly.”
And while many cable networks air 13-episode seasons of original series, Property Brothers — starring Jonathan and Drew Scott — airs a new episode nearly every week.
The steady diet of programming comfort food is working.
“HGTV offers a safe and uplifting environment during these times,” says Gerry Philpott, president/CEO of E-Poll Market Research, noting headlines about negative politics and deadly world events.
Programs cov- er every nook and cranny of HGTV’s genre, from house-flipping to interior design. Still, “we want to continue offering something fresh,” Page says, “whether that’s new talent, new location or a new type of home, like a yurt or a tiny home or a container home.” Two new shows feature celebrities: The Monica Potter Project follows the actress as she restores her childhood home in Cleveland. And production has started on a special on actress Gabrielle Union and her husband, NBA player Dwyane Wade, as they flip a home. They join Good Bones, a returning series with Indianapolis mother-daughter renovation experts Karen E Laine and Mina Starsiak. Good Bones’ Season 2 starts in April after averaging 1.6 million viewers early this year. E Laine and Starsiak concede their first season had challenges. “It was such a learning curve in so many different arenas, and the emotion just had to be put to the side for a while,” Starsiak says. But there’s a bright side, E Laine adds. “Even though making TV can be really hard, it’s also really, really fun. When we have fun, then the viewers at home have fun.”