Dear HGTV,
I have been a huge fan ever since I realized that you had a whole channel dedicated to home decorating and design. Even as a teenager, I preferred house and home magazines to fashion and gossip, so this new channel was right up my alley.
Over the years, shows came and went, got more sophisticated, and more variety was introduced to viewers. I really enjoyed that period in the mid-90s when you had a few British decorating shows in your lineup. My favorite shows are those that feature organizing (get more out of your space) and budget decorating (get more out of your money). I like seeing the actual makeover process on any program, because I think viewers can get the most out of it and gather ideas along with processes to spif up their own homes.
Then came the real estate shows. House Hunters was boring until you started going to other cities besides LA. Even then, I didn’t watch it much until you went overseas. House Hunters International allows me (and others, I’m sure) to live vicariously through others and shop for homes in locales that we only dream of visiting, never mind living in.
My First Place was a show I liked when it first aired. Again, it was the makeover and budget part of it that I liked. When it turned into another version of House Hunters, I got bored. Property Virgins is yet another incarnation, but with a less likeable host (bring back Suzanne Whang). And don’t even get me started on The Property Shop. I can barely stand to watch the commercials for that show, never mind the show itself, because I just don’t like Tatiana. Now, if you were to show the inner workings of a design firm, let me know. That one I’d be interested in watching.
My point is this: the real estate stronghold on your prime time programming is getting boring. No, not getting – it got old a long time ago. I do understand that in these hard economic times, you are looking at your production costs as much as possible. I’m sure it is much less expensive to point a camera in the face of someone who is already going through the process of buying a home than it is to pay for all the labor and materials involved in making over someone’s space. I get that. But for those of us who are staying put, who want to enjoy the space they live in, what do we get to watch?
Before you go and tell me that there are decorating shows on at other times, let me tell you this: I am writing this post from my desk at work, during my lunch break. Many other people reading it are also at work, just like you at HGTV are. Prime time is pretty much the only time I watch tv, though I have been making an exception for Design Star.
Back to my main point. I think you need to bring back more shows that are based on decorating – actually doing something to the inside of your home, and showing the process. Budget decor and organizing shows, both of which show how to get more out of what you already have as I mentioned above, would be very timely with the economy being what it is. From perusing the HGTV message boards, I know that I am not the only one who is tired of all the real estate shows. That being said, there are some real estate shows that are helpful. I like Real Estate Intervention, and Design to Sell and Get It Sold are both useful even to those of us not trying to sell a home. What these 3 shows have in common is useful information. Showing people wandering around trying to figure out what home to buy is not useful. We need the most bang for our cable TV buck, so give us some eye candy along with useful information.
Please consider what your viewers want. Many probably still watch all the real estate because they watch HGTV out of habit, not because they actually want this. Read your message boards – don’t make us start an email campaign to get what we want. I long for the day when I can once again watch decorating and design shows on HGTV.
Sincerely,
A longtime viewer
Wow, I found this really interesting – mostly because I feel exactly the opposite!
HGTV is my default primetime network… if there’s nothing else on (and most of the time there isn’t) I will gladly plop down and spend several hours glued to House Hunters and the others you mentioned above (My First Place, Property Virgins, etc.) I am one of those habit-watchers.
But the real-estate shows are how and why I developed the habit! I was really glad to see them move away from Trading Spaces and the like. I absolutely can not stand Design Star or The Property Shop (ugh, be quiet, Tatiana!) and will pretty much instantly change the channel if they come on.
When it comes down to it, I want to look at pretty houses, and even non-pretty houses. My husband and I call it house-pr0n. I don’t want personality shows – if I wanted that I’d watch the Food Network (actually, I wouldn’t) or Survivor or Big Brother or whatever the reality show du jour is.
I do like some of the designer-specific shows (Divine Design, Color Splash) but even those, I can’t watch more than one or two without getting bored. It’s just not as interesting to me – it’s less content for my time, I guess. In my mind, I’m watching HGTV to get ideas for my house. In one episode of House Hunters, I see three houses, and I’m more likely to keep watching even if the 1st house isn’t my taste. On the other hand, I pretty much know 2-3 minutes into a design show if I like the design style they’re going for – and frequently I don’t. So I change the channel and HGTV loses my pair of eyes on the commercials. Real estate shows are a safer bet, in an eyes-on-ads perspective (to me, anyway)
Hi Dewgirl,
It’s nice to get a view from the pro-RE side. I do admit to some voyeuristic tendencies, which is why I haven’t tuned out HGTV completely, as a fan of nearly all design, I will watch those shows that do rooms in a style I don’t necessarily agree with. As for a RE fix, I can get that by surfing the listings on HGTV’s own Frontdoor.com. I guess everyone gets their house pr0n in their own way.
i agree, kristen. i love decorating ideas. i like when they help me see something in a completely new way. i like clever ideas. i want useful ideas (please organize my closet without costing me $1,000!).
Exactly! Even if real estate shows are what people want, then at least give some useful information with these shows, something that we the viewers can take home with us. That’s why we watch.
Wow, I feel like I’m from another planet: I have never ever watch a decorating show!
Actually, the only thing I watch o TV is House (and the Simpsons :lol:).
Most of time, I feel like I really can’t relate: as far as I know, the houses are huge and people are rich.
You are such the mommy’s girl! First, I am so glad that Antonio won Design Star. He really kicked ass and I think Dan should have been eliminated long ago. That being said, let’s not forget one of our favorites, Candace Olsen. She rocks! I do like “Bang for your Buck” but I think the redesign of whatever rooms the homeowners do is seriously too expensive. I do like some of the house buying shows but I notice that some of them are really outdated. They should have one that explains the ins & outs of buying or bidding on a foreclosure. Sandra can keep her Property Virgins in Canada…….I’d never even think of relocating there! I do like the kitchen makeover show. The costs to totally remodel are a bit over the top, the results are beautiful, but I do get a lot of ideas from the show. The Unsellables is great because it really shows how to be creative but modest about staging your house inside and out. When I see a place for sale, of course I check out the curb appeal. A local agent told me she has the hardest time trying to convince people to stage properly and of course the homes are on the market for years. I’d love to be a stager, if only to tell people to clean up and de-clutter. I find myself constantly trying to keep the junk from accumlating in case we decide to sell (just don’t look in the basement!) Now if I could only get the DIY network….
Oh, I like DIY! Mister turned me on to that one – Ask This Old House (cuz I can undahstand them, being from Mass and all), Man Caves, House Crashers, Yard Crashers, Renovation Realities (best reality show on television!), Garage Mahal, etc. Even though you don’t get the channel, their website is pretty handy.
So now that you’re watching HGTV all the time (when you’re not watching Thomas the Tank Engine) does this mean you’ve given up the soap network? Because soap operas suck ass.
Agreed. I liked the original House Hunters, but liked it more when they branched out to other cities. I don’t like International so much, because I’m so jealous of all the people who get to afford such luxurious places while working from home. And the other real estate shows kind of bother me because I get so sick of people complaining about paint color and original tile & such. Gah.
I do love Design on a Dime, Color Splash, Myles of Style, and Decorating Cents. Oh, and Small Space, Big Style. But of those, I only see Design on a Dime just about daily. I don’t know what happened to all the others.
I think Color Splash is on Saturday nights. I couldn’t tell you about the others – if they’re still on, it must be during the day when I’m at work. Perhaps HGTV’s website can help you out with that.