Discovery Sets Launch Date For Chip and Joanna Gaines JV Magnolia – TCA

Peter White

Click here to read the full article.

Discovery has set a launch date for Magnolia, its joint venture between Discovery and Fixer Upper stars Chip and Joanna Gaines.

Discovery President and CEO David Zaslav revealed that the home and lifestyle brand will launch on October 4. He made the revelation during his opening remarks at the Winter TCA press tour.

More from Deadline

Zaslav said that the company was developing “fantastic” content for the platform that will launch in U.S. but will also be available internationally. “We think Chip and Jo represent the values that America is looking for,” he said.

The initiative, whose name will soon be announced, includes a linear television network and TV Everywhere app. A subscription streaming service will be added later.

The Gaineses will serve as Chief Creative Officers and current HGTV President Allison Page will be president of the new joint venture.

The linear network will occupy the real estate of the company’s DIY Network, which was acquired as part of Discovery’s $14.6 billion acquisition of Scripps Networks Interactive. DIY is carried in about 52 million U.S. homes.

New programming concepts currently in development will center around topics including community, home, garden, food, wellness, entrepreneurialism and design. The network also will be home to the complete library of Fixer Upper, which premiered on HGTV in 2013 and was one of the highest-rated series on the network during its four-year run.

This comes after the joint venture announced its first round of senior executive hires in September. Donna MacLetchie will become GM of Programming, while Julie Morris, becomes SVP, Brand Strategy and Operations.

Best of Deadline

Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.