Discovery’s long-in-the-works lifestyle network from home improvement power couple Chip and Joanna Gaines finally has a name and a launch date.
Called Magnolia—also the name of the Gaines’ home and lifestyle brand—the network will premiere on Oct. 4, Discovery president and CEO David Zaslav said today at the Television Critics Association’s winter press tour in Pasadena, Calif.
“We couldn’t be more excited,” Zaslav said. “We think Chip and Joanna represent the values that America is looking for.”
Last year, Discovery said that DIY Network—which debuted in 2010 as an HGTV spinoff—would be rebranded for the Gaines’ network. At the time, the company had expected Magnolia to launch in summer 2020.
The new network will extend the already wide-ranging home improvement brand helmed by Chip and Joanna Gaines, which also includes a remodeling and design company, a quarterly magazine Magnolia Journal, a home goods arm, a coffee shop and a hotel. Fixer Upper, the home improvement show that catapulted the couple to stardom, was one of HGTV’s most popular programs when it aired from 2013-18.
But a new linear network isn’t all Discovery is planning for 2020. At winter press tour, Zaslav said Discovery would have more information later this year about its upcoming direct-to-consumer streaming service, most details of which still remain under wraps.
The company, which teased a streaming offering last April, is working on building out a service that will appeal specifically to female viewers and their families, Zaslav said, in combination with the library of content from BBC, made available through a sweeping partnership between the two broadcasters.
Other streaming offerings on the market are “all pretty much the same, with scripted series and scripted movies,” Zaslav said. “Nobody is really serving women and families in a really compelling way. …As we look into 2020, you’re going to see something from us that will be quite compelling and quite powerful.”
https://www.adweek.com/tv-video/discovery-sets-name-and-launch-date-for-chip-and-joanna-gaines-lifestyle-network/