A new report is citing the rising costs of materials and labor as a contributing factor to the cancelation of several home renovation series on HGTV.
HGTV has canceled seven shows over the past several weeks – “Christina on the Coast,” “The Flipping El Moussas,” “Battle on the Beach,” “Farmhouse Fixer,” “Married to Real Estate,” “Bargain Block,” and “Izzy Does It.” An unnamed source told the entertainment news site Deadline that rising construction costs made the shows too expensive to produce.
“Stuff wouldn’t arrive on time,” said an unnamed producer who creates shows for the Warner Bros Discovery (NASDAQ: WBD) cable network. “We had wood floors, for instance, that would come in six weeks after we started production and then we’re also depending on contractors. Everyone knows if you’re doing construction on your home, you never come in on budget. So, try to apply that to a show that has really strict budgets. Some of our episodes took 16 weeks to shoot – it’s more labor intensive than doing a real estate show.”
Deadline noted HGTV’s home renovation shows can cost up to $500,000 per episode, whereas real estate-focused shows usually cost $200,000-$300,000 per episode and have shorter production schedules.
Furthermore, HGTV has been steadily losing viewers – in the last eight years, it lost nearly half of its total audience, most notably with younger viewers tuning out. Competition from streaming and TikTok was cited for much of the audience defection.
“I don’t know if it’s a show thing as much of an audience thing where a lot of people are dropping cable,” said another producer who asked not to be identified. “There was a time when people would just put on HGTV when they were cleaning.”
Photo: Jonathan Knight of “Farmhouse Fixer,” one of seven recently canceled series; courtesy of HGTV
So, would you look at that. Rising costs. I guess tariffs and expelling large swaths of the workforce are starting to take effect. It’s about to get worse America. Buckle up!
Prices at Home Depot and other suppliers have gone up because of trariffs that have not gone into effect. I saw employees at one hardware chain changing all the prices throughout the store. Siding went from $30 a sheet to $90 a sheet in one day. Gouging is allowed everywhere including gas and groceries. We saw it coming and stocked up on materials years ago.