Corus Entertainment's co-leader says the broadcaster is confident its two new lifestyle brands can "compete and win" against Food Network and HGTV after losing both networks' Canadian content rights to Rogers Communications Inc.
Flavour Network and Home Network will launch Dec. 30, offering a blend of original Canadian programming and international content acquired through new and expanded licensing agreements. They will replace the current channel positions of Food Network Canada and HGTV Canada next year and air original shows that were meant for those networks.
"From adversity comes creativity and can sometimes come greatness," Troy Reeb, Corus co-CEO said in an interview Wednesday, adding that the broadcaster conceived of the new networks "under a deadline" after Rogers scooped the rights to two of its key brands earlier this year.
Reeb said Flavour and Home will lean harder into Corus's "distinct Canadian identity" and aim to attract a younger and more diverse audience as part of the broadcaster's programming strategy.
"We know we're going to have to compete in the space, and we think we've come up with something that's leaning on our long-term expertise and experience in this space and is going to compete and win."
Reeb said Home and Flavour will carry more Canadian shows than HGTV and Food Network did last season. Corus says 110 hours of Canadian originals have been confirmed across both channels for 2025-26.
Among that CanCon are new seasons of “Renovation Resort,” Scott McGillivray's “Scott’s Vacation House Rules” and Pamela Anderson’s “Pamela’s Garden of Eden.” Flavour Network will also carry Anderson’s new series “Cooking with Love,” as well as returning shows “Top Chef Canada” and “Carnival Eats.”
Home Network will air fresh titles including “Building Baeumler” with Bryan and Sarah Baeumler and “The Big Burger Battle" with Andrew Phung.
Reeb pointed to new shows "Rentovation" with Natalie Chong and "Beer Budget Reno" with Kristen Coutts — both featuring millennial hosts — as content appealing to a younger demographic.
Bryan Baeumler sees the rebrand as a "massive opportunity" now that the channels are no longer limited by the programming drawn from U.S. versions of HGTV and Food Network.
"The padlocks have really fallen off the prison cell here and it's given us the opportunity to relaunch this with a Canadian focus," he said.
"It's given us a little bit of latitude to include some really new, exciting and expanded lifestyle content, bring it to the network and keep it here. So, for us, this really doesn't seem like a loss."
Among new acquisitions are “Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars” and “Chasing Flavor with Carla Hall” on Flavour, as well as Jessica Alba and Lizzy Mathis’ “Honest Renovations” and Joanna Teplin and Clea Shearer’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” on Home.
Corus announced in June that it will lose the rights to several key Warner Bros. Discovery brands, including HGTV, Food Network, Cooking Channel, Magnolia Network and OWN at the end of the year. Those brands move to Rogers in January.
Reeb says Corus is "not concerned" about Rogers' plans for HGTV and Food Network.
"People can buy the rights to a name, but the secret sauce really comes in how those programs get put together, what gets commissioned, how they flow into each other. And we've had 26 years of doing this at Corus."
Media analyst James Nadler says the launch of Home and Flavour is a "good move" for Corus given the success they've had with Canadian shows on Food Network and HGTV, but he questions the broadcaster's ability to produce more homegrown content amid its mounting debt and recent layoffs.
In Corus' third-quarter earnings call in July, the company said that by the end of August, it expected it will have reduced its full-time workforce by 25 per cent — or nearly 800 jobs — compared with September 2022 due to slumping revenues.
"They're going to be going with two new services that will require much more Canadian material, and they'll have fewer development executives to shepherd the material through," said Nadler, an associate professor of media production at Toronto Metropolitan University.
Nadler also pointed to a recent Globe and Mail report that Quebecor Inc. made an offer to buy Corus months ago, but the cash-strapped company has yet to respond.
"It's a question of whether Corus can withstand the costs of launching two new services while advertising revenues are down and while other companies, notably Quebecor, are circling to buy them."
Reeb declined to comment on the report about Quebecor's overtures to Corus.
Corus says more programming details and new series will be announced later this year.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.
Alex Nino Gheciu, The Canadian Press