Chip and Joanna Gaines are two of the most notable TV stars when it comes to home makeover shows. The couple has been working hard for a long time, becoming household names with their gone-and-back-again hit Fixer Upper, and have expanded their Magnolia home and lifestyle brand over the years. Now they’ve officially taken it a step further by at last bringing the cable channel Magnolia Network into the linear-verse, and the duo are clearly quite excited about launching a traditional TV network during the prime streaming era.
The duo talked with Variety about the long road of debuting Magnolia Network in the pandemic, and taking over the cable space that the DIY Network used to fill. With streaming all the rage these days, launching a network on linear television may not seem like the most promising idea, even after debuting a lot of the programming through the Discovery+ service. But at least according to Joanna Gaines, it’s all about connecting with the viewers of any platform.
We love to be where the people are. So obviously, streaming — that’s happening. Everything shifted last year from going to streaming first, and then linear. It all worked out. Now that we look back, we’re like, that’s exactly how it needed to work out. The fact that we got the streaming platform up and running. But there’s still tens of millions of people still on the linear side. And we think a lot of our viewers are still there. So we want to meet them there. We also just believe in the power of getting around the television as a family watching the same show together.
While it could have made sense for Chip and Joanna Gaines to have their own curated section on Discovery+ or to keep things limited to the Magnolia app for streaming audiences, the dedication shown in creating the Magnolia Network for television is proof that they care a lot about bringing viewers together rather than solely keeping up with trends. When it comes to bringing content to audience, the Gaines are staying true to their platform. The duo like doing things the old school way and for Joanna Gaines, it’s about the nostalgia:
I think right now a lot of people are on their own devices watching their own shows. It kind of reminds me of six years ago when we said yes to [creating Magnolia Journal quarterly] magazine. That was something we were dreaming about. Everyone was saying it’s all going to digital, print is dying. We believe in that idea of sitting in your favorite chair with your magazine for an hour doing that kind of back-to-basics thing. And I think the same goes with television. It’s weird to think of it as nostalgic, but being around the television set feels like back to the basics all over again. So for us, we feel fortunate to be able to have it on the streaming side, but also the linear side so that we can have as many people that want to watch it be able to watch it.
It's interesting that, when it comes to having the option to go the digital route, Chip and Joanna Gaines have mostly decided to do things old-school. While the two do have the Magnolia app, thanks to Discovery+, being able to have that linear side opens up a wider audience. They are able to attract viewers with both streaming and TV, and with the two of them, it likely won’t be hard to get people to watch.
The launch of Magnolia Network was a long time coming, so it makes sense that Chip and Joanna Gaines are ready for everyone and anyone to watch it. According to People, the original launch date for Magnolia was October 2020, then early 2021 before finally launching in January 2022. The network will consist of 24 new lifestyle-focused shows handpicked by the Gaines, including Fixer Upper: Welcome Home, as well as multiple existing DIY originals.
The Magnolia Network has officially launched on television, so make sure to watch to get all of your basic home renovation guilty pleasures in line, and download the app as well to watch even when you're not around a TV.
