As the Market Turns: Real Estate TV Still Has Stories to Sell
Shows Remain Popular Despite Slump
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Saturday, March 15, 2008
The real estate market may have cooled considerably, but not real estate television.
House-flipping and home-renovation programs are still big hits on cable. While for-sale signs sprout on lawns across the country, TV programmers are like developers who plow ahead with new housing projects anyway.
A new season of the A&E network's "Flip This House" -- one of a troika with TLC's "Flip that House" and Bravo's "Flipping Out" -- premieres tonight.
A&E has several new programs in development. At least six new ones are beginning on TLC in the next year, starting with "Date My House," in which former "Bachelor" Bob Guiney plays host to potential buyers who spend a night in a home on the market.
HGTV had its highest prime-time ratings ever in January. Nine of its top 10 series deal with the housing market, including "House Hunters," "My First Place," "Hidden Potential," "Buy Me" and "Design to Sell." The network did a special theme day Feb. 29: "taking the big leap," or investing in that first house.
"What's driving interest right now is that people are worried about it: 'What's the value of my home? How can I increase interest in my home?' " said Jim Samples, HGTV president. "And then there's the 'life goes on' factor. People are still changing jobs; families are still getting bigger. If anything, they tend to nest in this environment."
Samples has a personal interest in the topic. He's in the process of selling a home in Atlanta and buying one in Knoxville, Tenn., where HGTV has its headquarters.
He admitted, though, that one of his first questions last fall upon taking over HGTV was how the housing-market downturn would affect the network's programs.
HGTV essentially built itself on the public fascination with property. At its start, the network had shows on crafts and landscaping, but now the home is the focus.
"House Hunters," which premiered in 1999, helped introduce real estate as a prime TV target.
When TLC's "Trading Spaces" became a sensation, it proved that renovation and decoration could be entertainment instead of simply chores.
TLC has concentrated recently on reviving that franchise, even bringing original host Paige Davis back after a two-year absence.
