The long-awaited launch of Fixer Upper stars Chip Gaines and Joanna Gaines‘ own television network has finally been scheduled, but it will not go quite as smoothly as hoped. The traditional linear version of the network, which will take over the DIY Network, will not launch until January 2022. The digital Magnolia Network will launch on July 15 exclusively on the discovery+ streaming platform, which already has new content with the Gaines available.
The Gaines have been working on Magnolia Network since 2019 and had plans to launch in 2020. However, just like everything else, it had to be postponed due to the coronavirus. “Basically, COVID hit, and we quickly assessed and realized we were actually okay for Oct. 4, but we probably weren’t okay for Nov. 4, in that we’d shot one or two episodes and either paused [production] or completely stopped down,” Magnolia Network president Allison Page told Variety earlier this month. “And so it was getting the scale that we want and need to put forth a holistic experience that ultimately delayed us.”
Videos by PopCulture.com
Chip, 46, and Joanna, 42, ended the original Fixer Upper series in 2018 to focus on their Magnolia business and raising their children. Later that year, Discovery announced a joint venture with the couple to turn DIY into Magnolia Network. The original plan was to start the network with a new Fixer Upper series, the Magnolia Table show, and other programs, with a direct-to-consumer streaming platform coming later.
Since that plan was announced though, the streaming landscape has completely changed, “both within Discovery but also in the larger world,” Page noted. Disney, WarnerMedia, Apple, and NBCUniversal all launched their own streaming platforms, and Discovery joined the fray in January with discovery+. It was decided that discovery+ would be the home for the Gaines’ programming. At the moment, Magnolia just has a preview section, but a full digital portal will launch in July.
“Our plan has evolved along the way, but our original vision for this network has remained the same,” the Gaines said in a statement. “And it is our ongoing desire to create a space, whether in a streaming environment or on linear television, where people who watch a show on our network leave feeling like it was time well spent.” The couple still plans to launch the Magnolia app, which will include all the Magnolia shows, as well as workshops and an online shop. However, fans will still need a discovery+ subscription to access the shows and workshops, which will feature other Magnolia Network hosts.
