Chip and Joanna Gaines to Team With Discovery on New Network

Chip and Joanna Gaines, who ended their popular HGTV home renovation series Fixer Upper last year to spend more time with their family, are starting a new TV network with Discovery.

Chip and Joanna Gaines with Jimmy Fallon.

Chip and Joanna Gaines with Jimmy Fallon.

The couple went on the Tonight Show Friday night to announced their return to TV and new business venture.

“We’re coming back to television,” Chip Gaines told Jimmy Fallon.

On the show, he didn’t provide a lot of details about the new network.

“Long story short, we learned a lot through the five-year process of being on Fixer Upper and I think some of the things that really caused us the most problems, we have concluded I think we can figure this out so we’ve actually partnered with [Discovery CEO] David Zaslav and Discovery,” he said. “We’re going to have a network and I think we’re going to really carve it out in a way that really makes sense to us and our families.”

Gaines said a lot of the filming they do will take place in Waco, Texas, where they live. “So we don’t have to travel a whole lot. So all things being equal, we could not be more excited,” he said.

In a statement, Discovery said the announcement wasn't official yet, but it was working with the couple on what it termed a TV network and ecosystem.

“Discovery is thrilled to confirm that we are in exclusive talks with Chip and Joanna Gaines. The Gaineses are exceptional people, true authentic storytellers and creative visionaries who will nourish millions of people with quality, family-friendly programming accessible on a 24/7 network and across all screens,” Discovery said. “Stay tuned…working out the final details...more to come soon!”

Discovery previously formed a network in a joint venture with Oprah Winfrey, reformatting the former Discovery Health channel. It took several years before the network gained traction and started making money. OWN is now majority owned by Discovery.

Fixer Upper had its debut on HGTV in 2013. Season five premiered in November 2017 and ended in April 2018. HGTV launched a spinoff for Joanna Gaines called Fixer Upper: Behind the Design. That show premiered in April.

HGTV was part of Scripps Networks Interactive, which was acquired by Discovery earlier this year.

Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.