Magnolia Network Launches to 3 Million Viewers as ‘Fixer Upper: Welcome Home’ Draws Crowd
Magnolia Network opened its doors on Jan. 5 to an audience of about 3 million viewers, powered by the linear launch of “Fixer Upper: Welcome Home,” the renovation series hosted by Magnolia chiefs Chip and Joanna Gaines.
Magnolia Network’s first night of primetime programming garnered about 3 million viewers in Nielsen’s L3 ratings. The lifestyle and how-to channel marks the return to TV for the Gaines, who have partnered with Discovery in the streaming and linear launch of the curated Magnolia Network as a streaming label on Discovery Plus and the linear channel as a rebrand of Discovery’s erstwhile DIY channel.
The linear debut of “Fixer Upper: Welcome Home” on Jan. 5 brought in about 1.7 million viewers, a strong showing for an unscripted series. The series marks the return to episodic TV for the Gaines, who run a home renovation and retail empire from their home in Waco, Texas. The pair decided to take a break from “Fixer Upper” and TV in late 2017 but subsequently spent three years developing content and recruiting talent for Magnolia Network.
Magnolia’s debut was strong enough to rank No. 22 among all basic cable networks on its debut night. The Magnolia content also delivered triple-digit increases over the audience delivered by DIY.
The second installment of “Fixer Upper: Welcome Home,” which bowed Jan. 12 and delivered a solid 0.6 rating in the adults 25-54 demographic. In total, more than 4.5 million viewers have watched “Fixer Upper: Welcome Home” since its Jan. 5 debut.
Other inaugural Magnolia series include “Family Dinner,” a foodie series from culinary TV veteran Andrew Zimmern, and “The Lost Kitchen,” revolving around author and restaurateur Erin French, and “Magnolia Table wiht Joanna Gaines.”
Magnolia Network’s launch this month was not entirely smooth. The network briefly pulled the series “Home Work,” featuring Utah-based home builders Candis and Andy Meredith, from its air after complaints from homeowners about the quality of the couple’s work surfaced on social media. Magnolia later said it would work with homeowners to resolve their issues and return the show to its lineup.
(Pictured: “Fixer Upper: Welcome Home”)
Subscribe to Variety Newsletters and Email Alerts!
