Rules HGTV Hosts Are Forced To Follow

When it comes to the home improvement game, HGTV is an absolute juggernaut. According to Variety, the cable network hits 96 million homes each month, ranking number one among home-owning, college-educated women (and men). Shows like Fixer Upper and Property Brothers have done more than put the network on the map. They've brought HGTV stars into the homes of millions and turned them into household names.

While people like Drew and Jonathan Scott have become home renovation gurus — both on the small screen as well as in their everyday businesses — becoming an HGTV host isn't as easy as it may seem. In the HGTV article "13 Things You Didn't Know About HGTV's Property Brothers," the network explains that the Scott brothers spent years flipping houses and taking gigs as extras before they were actually discovered. And maintaining a position as a host is harder than it looks, too. These are the rules that all HGTV hosts need to follow.

It's one thing to post daily photos and tweets on social media platforms that show the world who you are. It's another to be able to convey that same authenticity on camera, and not everyone can actually do it. HGTV expects their stars to come across as authentic — and that's actually more important to execs than knowing your way around a set.

In an interview with House Beautiful, Kitchen Cousins and Cousins on Call star John Colaneri said, "It took some adjustment, but the best advice we ever received was during our first pilot. Our showrunner, who's one of our good friends to this day, knew we knew nothing. He stopped and told us, when it comes to talking to cameras and body positioning, we'll work [at] all that stuff. All I want is you to be you. We took that mantra through all of our shows."

In order to get more comfortable with the camera, Colaneri started recording himself before he ever submitted a sizzle reel to HGTV. He explains how the more practice he got, the easier it became to feel comfortable on camera.

More than anything, HGTV is looking for actual experts to lead their TV series lineup. As charismatic and appealing as someone might be on screen, it means little to nothing if they don't actually know what they're doing. And viewers are tuning in for real information. Whitney Gainer and Ashley Turner, the stars of Open Concept, had a long-running blog called Shanty2Chic before they ever appeared on HGTV. And the duo had been building homes for eight years prior to being discovered by the network. 

They explained to Country Living how much they loved repurposing old pieces but had to figure out how to do so with a limited amount of money. "We started documenting our projects along the way on our blog to help others do the same in their homes," Gainer says. "That led to a love of tools, and furniture design." The duo shared their how-to designs on their blog, which just so happened to catch one producer's eye. "She discovered us there, and asked if we had ever considered doing a show."

Not everyone who watches HGTV is in the home improvement industry. In fact, Yahoo! Finance reported that much of the network's viewership comes from people who don't actually own homes, but would one day like to. For many renters, the network is a part of a reality that they someday hope to achieve, and its hosts make that future feel absolutely attainable.

In an interview with The Washington Post, Allison Page, general manager of domestic programming and development for Scripps Networks, says HGTV looks for "vulnerability and realness" in its hosts. It tends to focus on affordable areas and down-to-earth renovators, people who viewers can see themselves in, as opposed to those who work in the multi-million dollar real estate industry. 

For example, Ben and Erin Napier, the husband and wife team of HGTV's Home Town, work in Mississippi, where an entire project — house sale and renovation — costs about $200,000. Ben spoke with The Washington Post and explained that the town they film in, Laurel, has "seen some hard times." It's a reality that many Americans are living these days, so seeing a couple on TV make a real effort to improve a place like Laurel is encouraging for many viewers.

HGTV isn't the only network under the Scripps Networks umbrella — Food Network is a part of the company as well. And back in the day, when Rachael Ray began her career with the network, Scripps had no idea that she would wind up making the kind of money she did off of her partnerships outside of it. According to an HGTV source who spoke with Page Six, as a result of her success, Scripps created a talent contract that would prevent another Rachael Ray situation from happening again. 

The source said, "Scripps talent contracts are very restrictive." Everything a host does has to be approved by the company beforehand, including any and all appearances, endorsements, and product deals. What's more, hosts are also required to give a huge percentage of their earnings back to Scripps, and so they wind up having very little control over the money they do make.

In an interview with Variety, Allison Page, general manager of HGTV, said it's a network that thrives on being "aspirational, attainable and fun." Part of adhering to that standard is hiring hosts who will be able to embody that for its audience. Ideally, HGTV hosts should be people that regular folks at home can relate to. Controversial, polarizing opinions are quick to get cut from the lineup.

Back in 2014, twin brothers David and Jason Benham were set to star in the new series Flip It Forward, but HGTV canceled the show before it ever aired. According to Right Wing Watch, it's because at least one of the brothers shares his extremist views with their father, evangelical preacher Flip Benham. In 2012, David Benham led a prayer rally outside of the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he spoke out against homosexuality. HGTV never commented on the decision to pull the series, outside of a tweet saying they wouldn't be moving forward.

If you've ever watched an HGTV show, you're totally familiar with the "on the fly" interview, even if you have no idea what it actually means. On the fly, or OTF, interviews are completely unscripted and done spur of the moment. Typically, when it comes to shows on HGTV, they'll happen immediately following a funny or dramatic renovation moment.

For Home Town's Ben and Erin Napier, having to do so many OTF interviews took some getting used to. When Erin spoke with Hooked on Houses about her and Ben's experience filming the pilot for their show Home Town, she said the couple had to do one after every scene they filmed. According to her, "There is nothing scripted about shows like ours and Fixer Upper — they asked us questions and we answered 'em on the spot." 

She went on to talk about how the actual filming of OTF interviews is also incredibly specific. Because of the more than one foot height difference between her and Ben, she had to stand on a "half apple" crate so that they would fit together in frame.

HGTV is a business, and like any other business, its goal, ultimately, is to bring in viewers, advertisers, and cash flow. While none of its shows are scripted per se, it does have a reputation for framing events in a way that builds drama. Bobi Jensen appeared on an episode of House Hunters in which she and her family were told by producers that their reason for moving was "boring and overdone," and they were told to play a different, more interesting angle, according to Hooked on Houses.

One poster on Reddit relayed a story about their aunt and uncle, who appeared on Love It Or List It. According to them, the couple had to actually film both the "love it" and the "list it" endings, allowing for the show's producers to decide which ending would be better. HGTV hosts, as honest and real as they are, still have to answer to the network. And if the network thinks a particular angle is going to increase viewership, its hosts just have to go with it.