(Auckland, New Zealand, May 24, 2016) – New Zealand will soon welcome leading U.S. home and lifestyle brand HGTV as a new free channel available to all New Zealanders. HGTV will be the dedicated destination for the very best in home improvement, DIY, design, real estate and gardening television content. HGTV will launch on Freeview channel 17 on June 27.
HGTV is America’s leading home and lifestyle channel. Since its launch in 1994, HGTV has established itself as a preeminent network and has secured a position as a top 10 network in the United States. Since its launch, the channel has rolled out in Canada, the Caribbean and most recently across Asia and Australia. In less than a year on air, HGTV solidified its position as the number one lifestyle channel in Singapore.
HGTV will feed New Zealand’s insatiable appetite for home improvement programming and feature popular programmes that have not yet been seen before in New Zealand. The programmes have been selected based on their potential to provide inspiration, instruction and entertainment, featuring fresh ideas, the latest trends and access to celebrity homes and real estate listings including Fixer Upper, Flip or Flop, Five Day Flip, Kitchen Cousins, the House Hunters franchise, and Tiny House, Big Living.
The channel is launching in New Zealand in collaboration with Blue Ant Media, an international media company based in Canada, and Scripps Networks Interactive, the world’s leading producer of high quality engaging lifestyle content. The channel will operate under the management of Blue Ant’s broadcast channel, Choice TV, headquartered in Auckland.
Julia Baylis, General Manager, Choice TV, said: “HGTV is an exciting new addition to New Zealand’s free-to-air television environment. HGTV’s quality programming epitomises New Zealand’s love affair for DIY and home improvement.”
“Through this partnership with Blue Ant Media, Scripps Networks Interactive will further increase its global footprint and introduce its powerhouse brands and high-quality programming to audiences across New Zealand,” said Jim Samples, President, International, Scripps Networks Interactive. “We have seen great success with the roll-out of HGTV and its high quality content around the world. By launching in New Zealand, we aim to fill the gap in the market for inspirational home and garden entertainment.”
Scripps Networks is the leading provider of lifestyle content across the globe, producing more than 2,500 new hours of original programming each year. Scripps Networks’ global lifestyle media portfolio includes popular brands Food Network, Cooking Channel, Asian Food Channel, HGTV, DIY Network, Fine Living Network, Travel Channel and Great American Country, reaching audiences across 175 countries and territories around the world.
HGTV will broadcast 24 hours a day, seven days a week on Freeview channel 17 beginning June 27. All programmes will also be available online on HGTV on Demand.
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Blue Ant Media is a privately held international media company that owns and operates 10 media brands including Cottage Life, Love Nature, Smithsonian Channel Canada and Makeful. Blue Ant Media creates and distributes content worldwide ranging from nature to DIY, outdoor living to music, engaging fans across television, digital, magazines and live events. The company also owns Omnia Media, a YouTube network and Choice TV, a broadcast channel in New Zealand. Blue Ant Media is based in Toronto and has offices in Los Angeles, London (UK) and Auckland. blueantmedia.com
Scripps Networks Interactive (Nasdaq: SNI) is one of the leading developers of engaging lifestyle content in the home, food and travel categories for television, the Internet and emerging platforms. The company’s lifestyle media portfolio comprises popular television and Internet brands HGTV, DIY Network, Food Network, Cooking Channel, Travel Channel and Great American Country, which collectively engage more than 190 million U.S. consumers each month. International operations include TVN, Poland’s premier multi-platform media company; UKTV, an independent commercial joint venture with BBC Worldwide; Asian Food Channel, the first pan-regional TV food network in Asia; and lifestyle channel Fine Living. The company’s global networks and websites reach millions of consumers across North and South America, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Scripps Networks Interactive is headquartered in Knoxville, Tenn. For more information, please visit scrippsnetworksinteractive.com.
Programming Appendix
Programmes to feature on HGTV include content, never-before-seen in New Zealand, including:
Fixer Upper
Texas design and remodelling pros, Chip and Joanna Gaines, are helping homebuyers to look past the superficial, convincing them to buy the worst house on the best block and make it beautiful. Chip and Joanna take the wrong house in the right neighbourhood, and transform the diamond in the rough, into the home of their client’s dreams.
Flip or Flop
Husband and wife house-flipping team, Tarek and Christina El Moussa, have viewers on the edge of their seats as they purchase dilapidated properties for cash, sometimes sight unseen, and then renovate and flip them for resale. From the nail-biting purchase at auction, to the sometimes exasperating renovations, discouraging showings and uncertainty around the sale – will they flip or flop?
Five Day Flip
Professional renovator, Cherie Barber, has perfected the art of the Five Day Flip. Where other flippers can take weeks or even months to fix up a house, Cherie and her expert team of contractors have figured out how to get in, transform the property and get it back on the market in just five days.
Kitchen Cousins
Every homeowner fantasizes about having a beautiful, state-of-the-art kitchen, and cousins Anthony Carrino and John Colaneri, make that dream a reality. Together, they transform outdated and dysfunctional kitchens into incredible modern spaces.
House Hunters International
From Denmark to the Dominican Republic, we follow home-seekers around the world as they navigate the complexities of buying real estate abroad. From Roman columns to Spanish arches, they’ll check out all kinds of architectural styles and locations to find their dream property. Which place will they pick?
Tiny House, Big Living
Homeowners learn what it really means to downsize when they take the plunge into the tiny house real estate market. At an average size of only 180 square feet, watch as clients customize or build their one-of-a-kind properties to fit all their lifestyle needs