TV Land Taps Reality with Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

In a departure from classic TV series like Good Times and Gunsmoke, TV Land Monday announced the acquisition of off-network rights to Disney-ABC Domestic Television’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition reality series.

TV Land will air past episodes of the five-year-old series beginning in August, according to network executives The series follows a team of designers, contractors and workers who race against time to complete a housing remodeling for families in need. Terms of the deal were not disclosed at press time.

While Extreme Makeover: Home Edition is not typical of TV Land programming, network president Larry Jones said in a prepared statement that the acquisition compliments the network’s strategy of serving its target 25-54 baby-boomer audience with its vintage television shows.

"Extreme Makeover: Home Edition is the perfect complement to TV Land's strategy of superserving baby boomers, the first generation to grow up alongside television," Jones said. "The show’s central theme of giving back to society is a quality boomers appreciate, and the fact that each episode comes complete with a happy ending is a device the TV generation has come to expect from TV viewing."

TV Land posted a 13% decline in household primetime ratings in May with a 0.7 compared with a 0.8 for the same period last year.

R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.