House & Home expands reach on U.S. HGTV

The doyenne of Canadian House & Home magazine, will have her television show, House & Home with Lynda Reeves, on the screens of the House and Garden TV in the U.S. starting October 7. According to a story in mastheadonline (sub requ'd) . The popular program, which makes a powerful one-two marketing punch with the very prosperous magazine, is already seen daily on Global Television in Canada and has now been picked up by Scripps Networks in the U.S.

Reeves, who is president of House and Home Media of Toronto and Publisher of Canadian House & Home magazine is the show's host and a regular guest is CH&H Editor Cobi Ladner.

Last year, Canadian House & Home magazine had estimated revenues of more than $21 million. The television program, with Reeves front and centre, will have a potential reach of 91 million U.S. households. “We are excited that an American network has recognized our show as the next wave in home design television,” said Reeves in a statement. “Audiences are craving a real exploration of issues that affect the way they live.”

HGTV is one of the many offerings of the Scripps Networks brand. These include include Food Network, DIY -- Do It Yourself Network and Fine Living. Home & Garden and Food Network each can be seen in about 80 million U.S. television households. Scripps Networks Web sites include FoodNetwork.com, hgtv.com, DIYnetwork.com and fineliving.com. Scripps Networks programming can be seen in 33 countries.

Scripps's home shopping subsidiary, Shop At Home Network, markets a growing range of consumer goods directly to television viewers and visitors to the Shop At Home Web site, shopathometv.com. Shop At Home reaches about 44 million full-time equivalent U.S. households. Scripps also operates Scripps Howard News Service and United Media, which is the worldwide licensing and syndication home of PEANUTS and DILBERT.

There was no indication whether the push into U.S. TV presages a push for an Americanized version of the magazine into the U.S. market. One of its salutary values to Canadian readers is that it talks about Canadian sources and to serve the U.S. market would either require development of a split run or a wholly separate U.S. edition. Canadian magazines which have plunged into the huge U.S. market have found it expensive and cutthroat.