Network Timeline
Born from a Personal Passion The idea for HGTV grew from the personal experience of Ken Lowe, HGTV’s founder and now President and CEO of HGTV’s parent, The E.W. Scripps Company. A self-styled ‘frustrated architect’ moving up the broadcast management ladder, he and his wife, Mary, relocated from city to city, building or repairing home after home. He was the weekend architect; Mary was the master gardener and gourmet cook. "The network is a natural result of my vocation and my avocation," says Lowe. "I’d be working on something and find I didn’t know everything to get the job done. I was constantly griping to my wife, ‘Why doesn’t somebody do more television programming in this area?’ " Lowe began collecting ideas, thinking, ‘Someday I’m going to create this network.’ In late 1992, while working as a broadcast executive for Scripps Howard in Cincinnati, he pitched the idea to Scripps by drawing a house in which every room from attic to wine cellar was its own TV show. To his surprise, the company loved the idea and agreed to invest $75 million. Timeline – HGTV and Scripps Networks May 1994
Plans to Launch HGTV Announced at NCTA – With cable television exploding on the media scene, HGTV is one of more than 100 new networks introduced at NCTA in New Orleans in 1994. Only three of those announced that year have reached full distribution of 80 million-plus subscribers. December 1994
HGTV Goes On the Air – A new cable network, devoted to all things related to the home, goes on the air with 6.5 million homes in 44 markets. HGTV’s primetime lineup at launch was more than 90 percent original, a mix that quickly grew to 100 percent during primetime, 85 percent overall. "What viewers really want is somebody who knows what they’re talking about," says HGTV President Burton Jablin, "someone to inform, inspire, and lead them to better buying and how-to decisions." Many of the original hosts -- Carol Duvall, Paul James , Shari Hiller and Matt Fox – remain favorites with viewers today, complemented by a variety of popular new hosts including Candice Olson on Divine Design, Clive Pearse and Lisa LaPorta on Designed to Sell, Gail O’Neill on "Mission Organization" and Debbie Travis on Debbie Travis’ FACELIFT. April 1995
HGTV Opens Headquarters – Construction of HGTV’s facilities are complete, with Knoxville, Tennessee serving as "home" to Home & Garden Television. "The lifestyle of the Knoxville community was a perfect fit," Lowe says. "I wanted a place where employees could have homes and families. The idea of the network is to inspire viewers to improve their quality of life. I wanted us to live like that." November 1995
HGTV Reaches 10 Million Households – Less than one year after launching, HGTV is available in 10 million households. May 1996
Launch of HGTV.com – From its inception, the vision for HGTV included converged programming with companion packages available to viewers/consumers through the Internet. "From day one, viewers have been active participants in an HGTV experience that responds rapidly to new developments in media technology, says HGTV President Burton Jablin. "In 1994 and ’95 interactivity was answering the telephones. Then came HGTV.com with 24-hour turnaround for answering viewer questions by e-mail." Today, HGTV.com attracts an average of 3.5 million unique visitors each month, consistently ranking among the top five websites in the Home + Work panel measured by Nielsen/NetRatings.
September 1996
Oh, Canada! – HGTV Canada is launched. March 1997
HGTV Reaches 25 Million Households – In just over three years, HGTV surpasses the 25-million mark in household subscribers. April 1996
Going Global – HGTV signs its first international deal, providing HGTV-branded programming in Japan through the Home Channel. International carriage of HGTV programming now extends to 26 countries in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia, as well as the 1000 outlets in 175 countries through the American Forces Radio & Television Services (AFRTS). February – March 1997
Sweet Dreams – The network gives away a $1 million home in Jackson Hole, Wyoming in its first major promotion, the HGTV Dream Home Giveaway ? The HGTV Dream Home Giveaway has become the biggest promotion in television. September 1997
Targeted Television x Two – E.W. Scripps, the parent company of HGTV, acquires Food Network, adding a second targeted cable television network to its holdings and and creating Scripps Networks. Under the Scripps Networks banner, Food Network grew from 28 million subscribers in 1997 to 83 million subscribers in 2003. First Quarter 1998
In The Black – Financially, HGTV has outperforms all projections, reaching profitability less than four years after going on the air. With an eye to the future, Scripps Networks announces plans to launch a third network for do-it-yourselfers. April 1998
40 Million And Counting – HGTV reaches 40 million household subscribers, making it the fastest growing network in cable television history. February 1999
HGTV Surpasses 50 Million Subscribers – The network adds more than 12 million new subscribers in 1998 alone to continue its torrid rate of growth. September 30, 1999
DIY—Do It Yourself Network Goes On The Air – As HGTV’s programming evolves to a more story-driven concept, Scripps Networks launches a new network to satisfy the how-to hunger of the more project-oriented DIYers. DIY is now available in more than 26 million households. October 28, 1999
Keeping Up With the Growth – Scripps Networks builds a $12 million addition to its facility, doubling the size of the Knoxville headquarters and providing the infrastructure and technology to support the continuing growth of its media properties. June 2001
Opting In For Newsletters – HGTV offers its first online newsletter subscription to its viewers. Scripps Networks currently distributes six different newsletters containing content and information of HGTV, Food Network, DIY and Fine Living to more than 9 million opt-in subscribers. Fall 2001
"Nesting" – This is the buzzword following the tragedy of 9/11 in 2001 as Americans take solace in their homes. With "nesting" comes a new focus on all things hearth and home, including an onslaught of new television shows focusing on design and decorating, prompting noted cable industry analyst Jack Myers to state: "HGTV’s format has been the most copied on the television landscape." (Jack Myers, Jack Myers’ Report, January 6, 2003) January 2002
Everything Is Coming Up Roses – Record ratings becomes a New Year’s Day tradition at HGTV, fueled by the live, uninterrupted coverage of the Tournament of Roses Parade followed by premieres of the network’s newest programs and specials. The 113th Tournament of Roses Parade programming on HGTV garners a 3.8 rating, with approximately 8 million households tuning in to set an all-time record for viewing for the network. February 2002
Meeting the Demand – Scripps Networks and Time-Warner Cable in Cincinnati partner on a test of video-on-demand programming, offering selected programming from HGTV, Food Network and DIY. "One of our mandates," says Jablin, "was to own our own content. We knew the Internet would come into play, and we knew other new media opportunities would develop, so we wanted all the rights to the programming." Scripps Networks On Demand is one of the leading programmers of VOD content today, available in approximately 7 million homes (50 percent of digital households) in 75 markets across the country. March 2002
Live Like You Mean It! – Scripps Networks introduced its fourth lifestyle network, Fine Living, to help viewers get the most out of life and living. Fine Living reached 20 million subscribers in less than two years from its launch. April 2002
Construction Zone – Scripps Networks completes 141,000-square-foot addition to its Knoxville headquarters, including a new, state-of-the-art Network Operations Center. October 2002
Scripps Acquires Shop At Home – E.W. Scripps Company acquires Shop At Home Network to add a commerce dimension to its family of lifestyle networks. Judy Girard is named President of Shop At Home in January 2004 to begin in earnest the integration of Shop At Home into Scripps Networks. September 2003
Prime Time on the West Coast – HGTV begins dual feed, making Prime Time programming the same on both coasts. November 2002
HGTV Joins Cable Elite – HGTV becomes fully distributed as the network eclipses the 80-million mark for household subscribers. HGTV continues to enjoy distribution gains and is now in more than 86 million households. January 2003
Dreaming On Demand – HGTV is the first of the Scripps Networks to introduce an original program offering through VOD, "The Building of Dream Home," on HGTV On Demand. June 2003
A Salute To Preservation – HGTV joins with the National Trust for Historic Preservation to launch a national public relations initiative, "Restore America: A Salute to Preservation." The initiative raises awareness for the preservation cause by showcasing historically significant sites across America on HGTV and HGTV.com, with the network contributing financially to the restoration of these landmarks. September – December 2003
Book Mark – HGTV partners with Meredith Publishing to print the first in a series of books, HGTV’s Before & After Decorating and HGTV’s Design on a Dime, the latter of which topped the charts in January and February 2004 for books in the design category. December 2003
HGTV Shatters Annual Ratings Record – HGTV outpaces a growing cable television industry with 24-percent growth in Primetime Household Impressions, increasing its average HH rating to a 0.8 for the year. That translates to a total of 128,000 new viewing households in Prime for HGTV, compared to a 38,000 average for all ad-supported cable networks in 2003. January 2004
Pioneering Broadband – MSN Chairman Bill Gates announces that Scripps Networks content will be a part of the MSN Video broadband service. Shortly thereafter, Scripps Networks launched its broadband content to 5.3 million Comcast high-speed Internet customers. January – February 2004
Big Dreams – The HGTV Dream Home Giveaway sets a new record with almost 36 million entries. The St. Mary’s, Georgia home is won by a retired accountant from Sacramento, Calif. January – March 2004
Building On The Momentum – HGTV carries the momentum into the 1st Quarter of 2004 to record its highest rated quarter in the history of the network. HGTV attracted 756,000 households on average for a 12-percent increase in viewership over 2003 and a record-high .9 rating in Primetime for Q1 ’04. The Total Day household delivery of 474,000 over the same period represented a 13-percent increase over 2003 for the highest ever quarterly Total Day ratings of .6. April 5-11, 2004
Another First – HGTV earned its first ever weekly 1.0 average HH Rtg/1.6 HH Share with 839,000 HHs on average in prime time (M-Su 8-11pm e/p) -- a 25-percent increase in rating and +30-percent in HH impressions over the same week a year ago.
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