Can A Struggling HGTV Renovate Its Content?

Forbes

4 days ago

HGTV has been struggling. Recently, the network has canceled Christina on the Coast, The Flipping El Moussas, Battle on the Beach, Farmhouse Fixer, Married To Real Estate, Bargain Block and Izzy Does It.
In an exclusive for Deadline, one source said, 'Home reno shows are expensive because all of the materials are jacked up and on delay, the price of wood and marble and everything else is going up, so these shows don't make as much sense anymore.'
HGTV ranked 13th on the list of most watched networks in 2024. However, its viewership dropped 18%. Its total audience fell from 1.5 million in 2017 to 773,000 in 2024. This drop isn't the only issue at the network. As housing and building costs rise in America, home renovation shows have become more expensive to produce.
While not looking at TV renovations, the University of Alabama found that in 2024 'the median spend on home renovations totaled $24,000, a 60% increase from 2020.' Even with prices going up, many still plan on renovating. The same report from UoA includes that ' more than half (52%) of American homeowners plan on renovating [in 2024]
A larger issue may be homeownership itself. For Q2 2025, the Census Bureau's latest quarterly report showed The homeownership rate at 65.0%, the lowest level since 2019. Similarly, The National Association of Home Builders published in 2024, 'The homeownership rate is below the 25-year average rate of 66.4%, due to a multidecade low for housing affordability conditions.'
This is important outside of TV programming for many reasons, but its effects may influence the network. It is easy to blame lower viewership numbers on DIY TikTokers and streaming services (which are also major factors). However, there seems to be something bigger at play as well. Without homes to renovate, younger demographics may simply not be tuning in. The average age of HGTV watchers is 47.3 and over 73% of their audience owns a home. At the same time, a survey from Front Door found that people start DIY projects at an average age of 28.
This survey had a couple of other interesting takeaways regarding DIY content. It found that 47% of those who did DIY projects did so because they could not afford professionals and that 52% get their inspiration from social media. The survey found that 'DIYers overwhelmingly rely on the internet when stuck, with 73% consulting YouTube and 60% turning to Google for solutions.'
There are multiple factors that may be affecting HGTV, this includes social media. However, social media may be the easiest to overcome or even leverage. HGTV itself has a YouTube channel with over 890k followers. HGTV content is also available to stream through HBO Max. However, content is consistently not among the most viewed titles on the streamer.
Between rising costs and lower viewership, HGTV may need to reinvent itself. The network could shift focus to social media-friendly content, lower-cost renovation and even renter-friendly content; however, unless larger factors change, many young people may not need home renovation content without homes.