Fixer Upper and other Magnolia Network shows coming to HBO Max in September (EXCLUSIVE)
Chip and Joanna Gaines’ Magnolia Network lineup, together with all 5 seasons of HGTV’s “Fixer Upper,” will start streaming on HBO Max in September, Variety has discovered exclusively.
According to a WarnerMedia source, "select" titles
from the Magnolia Network will come to the streamer on Friday, Sept. 30, as
part of a page featuring Gaines' "curated" content, including
"Fixer Upper: Welcome Home," "Magnolia's Table with Joanna
Gaines" and "The Lost Kitchen," among other series. The former
HGTV superstars launched their Magnolia linear and streaming channel in
partnership with Discovery last year, before Discovery merged with WarnerMedia.
Industry reassets say a brand new series, "Fixer Upper:
The Castle," which facilities at the Gaines' overhauling in their
100-year-vintage fortress in Waco, Texas, will optimum Oct. 14 on HBO Max with
the Linear Magnolia Network and Discovery+.
More Magnolia Network content will be added to HBO Max over
time, but will also be available on Discovery+, which costs $4.99 per month
with ads, compared to HBO Max's $9.99 ad-supported plan, WBD sources say.
The news comes ahead of Warner Bros. Discovery's Q2 earnings
report and presentation later today, which is expected during CEO David Zaslav
and co. Reveal more about the future of HBO Max and Discovery+ — which will converge
on one platform at a time — and plans for the rest of the company.
The Magnolia Network first launched as an app within
Discovery+ last July, and a linear channel rebranded from Discovery's DIY
network went live in January.
Variety exclusively reported in April that before
Discovery's acquisition of WarnerMedia was completed and rebranded to Warner
Bros. Discovery, it was decided that oversight of the Magnolia Network, a joint
venture between Gaines and Discovery, would go under the team at HBO.
In this new structure, Magnolia President Alison Page now
reports directly to Casey Bloys, head of HBO and HBO Max content. Bloys is one
of the few top WarnerMedia execs still standing after the mass exodus that
first began before the Discovery-WarnerMedia merger and continues as Zaslav
gradually unveils his new leadership team and structure.
Warner Bros. Discovery chairman and US network group
Kathleen Finch is being replaced by Kathleen Finch, chief content officer, from
HBO and the "Fixer Upper" star to lead the lifestyle brand, a
significant sign of integration between the two companies. The couple has long
been deeply tied to Legacy Discovery's identity because of Gaines' origins as
an HGTV icon.