American pay television channel
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DIY Network is an American multinational basic cable network owned by Discovery, Inc. and launched in 1999, The network is a spin-off of HGTV; while it originally focused on instructional programming related to "do it yourself" activities, DIY Network has since focused on personality-based, documentary-style reality series related to home repair and renovation.
Programming
Current programming includes a focus on:
- Home construction (Building off the Grid)
- Home repair or restoration (Bath Crashers, Blog Cabin, Ed the Plumber, Kitchen Crashers, Maine Cabin Masters, Restored, Sweat Equity)
- Home improvement (The Vanilla Ice Project, BATHtastic, Mega Dens, Man Caves, Cool Tools)
- Gardening and landscaping (Yard Crashers)
- Building and contracting (Million Dollar Contractor, Sledgehammer, Barnwood Builders, Texas Flip and Move)
Earlier shows (now archived) included a variety of topics, including auto repair, jewelry design, plumbing, boating, knitting and quilting, and woodworking.
The network also carries reruns of the series This Old House, originally a PBS series about families who had their homes remodeled or rehabilitated, and as recently as late-2009, some older HGTV archive programming, including the Carol Duvall Show.
DIY's renovation shows included programs that had a specific historical restoration focus, like Restored, and some shows had specific geographic focuses, like shows outlining historical restorations in Virginia [4] and South Carolina,[5] for example.
History
DIY was the second network to be launched by the E. W. Scripps Company, following the success of HGTV, with the network's first two years adapting HGTV's program library into programs for certain DIY niches as Scripps filmed new original content for the new network. The network offered a large amount of broadband content (originally project worksheets and instruction pages for printout by users, later video clips and more) to create demand for and help cable operators launch and justify their cable broadband services.
DIY says they target a more male audience than HGTV (which is more female), although both channels have offerings which appeal to both.[citation needed]
The channel announced that it would launch in high definition on May 1, 2010, on "two prominent distributors", adding 200 new original programs by year's end.[6] One of the "prominent distributors" turned out to be Dish Network, which launched DIY HD on May 12, 2010.[7] DirecTV added DIY HD on September 19, 2012.
Planned relaunch as Magnolia Network
In November 2018, Chip and Joanna Gaines of the former HGTV series Fixer Upper announced on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, that they were in early talks to form a "lifestyle focused media network" with Discovery via their personal company Magnolia.[8][9] In April 2019, Discovery officially announced their new venture, and that its linear television component would launch some time in 2020, replacing DIY Network.[10] Discovery announced on January 16, 2020 that it would launch on October 4.[11]
The launch was then delayed indefinitely on April 21, as the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the ability to produce the network's launch programming.[12] On August 4, 2020, it was announced that the network would launch in 2021. Fixer Upper, which had originally permanently ended in 2018, will resume production of new episodes in conjunction with the launch of Magnolia Network.[13]
Due to the delay in production, some Magnolia Network programming debuted as part of the January 4, 2021 launch of the Discovery+ streaming service. More Magnolia Network content will be placed on Discovery+ in mid-July, with the transition of the linear DIY Network to Magnolia Network further delayed to January 5, 2022.[14][15]
