Natwerk Designs - What do you think about the direction HGTV programming has taken?

What do you think about the direction HGTV programming has taken?

HGTV used to be about creating personalized lifestyles, about getting your hands dirty in gardens you intend to watch mature from inside homes that reflected your character. Now, it's curb appeal, increasing the market value of your home, squeezing every last cent out of prospective buyers, & turning your home into an ATM instead of building equity so that your home will always be your soft place to fall. It's about what people will pay for 300 square feet in New York City, couples in crisis because they can't manage a bath remodel for less than $30,000, a kitchen remodel for less than $100,000, & newlyweds who can't find their dream home on a "budget" of $400,000.00. Landscaping is not gardening. Copying is not decorating. It's a leap to say that HGTV's exploitation of a homeowner's desire to turn a buck is responsible for the housing crisis in this country but, hey, sometimes the tail does wag the dog. That's my take, what's yours? Did everyone catch Saaanen's brilliant comment? Was looking for opinions about the current programming idylls of HGTV not remedies from latent three year olds.

Public Comments

That is the direction that a lot of channels seem to be going. The Discovery channel, History channel, TLC, National Geographic are all getting more and more of these low budget stupid "reality" shows. With the market going down maybe HGTV will start having some more realistic shows like "Foreclose This!".
I laugh at it. Do they not realize that the people watching are not the ones with unlimited funds to do the junk they show? Maybe they are trying to make us jealous. I have slowed way down on watching it. I still watch some how-to shows and woodworking things. Changed to watching Court TV so if I decide to steal enough money to do these projects, I have a better chance of not getting caught LOL.
Sorry but 2 of my fav shows are House Hunters and Spice up my Kitchen. I just redid my kitchen and like watching what they are doing to fix up other peoples kitchens. I ;like to watch house hunters - I like to see the homes and what there market value is. But then again I'm not into gardening so I never watched those anyways.
There are no censors on HGTV. Change the channel.
I have been disappointed in in the last year or so, might as well take off the G since there is virtually no gardening on the network, just like you said. Surprised they haven't figured out how to toss in some poker shows. Of course, now Sci Fi has wrestling, the travel channel is primarily the poker tournament channel, so I guess anything goes. And of course, the "news" channels like Fox and CNN rarely have real news anymore-- both interupted coverage of the fires in California to report on Valerie Plame or Plume--like how is that important or relevant, who cares! We did care about the fires, but that wasn't important to them apparently. Guess next Disney Channel will start showing horror movies or adult entertainment.
yes, I am a member of their site, subscribe to news letters, polls etc. And they are self admittedly changed from a "how to" network to "entertainment" broadcasting. As an interior decorator I like to keep up with these networks so you keep up with trends but I too am finding most of theirs shows irrelevant to my business. Its also kind of turning into a real estate network, I prefer shows like House and Home with Linda Reeves.