Who owns (Gay Friendly?) HGTV?

[Stinky The Clown]

I watch a fair amount of HGTV and especially like the old house/renovation/adaptive reuse programs. Homes Across America, If Walls Could Talk, Building Character, Restore America, Extreme Homes, etc.

In my estimation 10% to 15% of these shows seem to feature homes owned by gay couples. And as is typical, the homeowners get a good deal of "face time". And these are not the normally expected NY or San Francisco or DC couples. They're from Boise, and Slidell, and Topeka, and Casper. They make absolutely *no* big deal about gay couples. Nothing. Nada. Which is exactly as it should be.

Has anyone else noticed this?

I see a lot of the shows done by Scripps Broadcasting. Who owns them? Who sponsors them? Who owns the HGTV network?

I realize they're not the most popular channel on cable, but I know a lot of folks who watch that and Food Network. It seems to me this is a good step forward. Perhaps it deserves our support of their sponsors?

As I said, this is my impression and I'd be interested in others' view of this.

[karlrschneider]

1. Hm, I've never even heard of that channel, might have to check it out...

;-)

[HeyManThatsCool]

2. Just today

I watched a Designers Challenge where a gay couple re-did their Kitchen. I too have noticed that it happens all the time and is not in any way a big deal. The only show I can think of where they were actually in San Fran was a Landscapers Challenge.

I also find it heartening that they are gay friendly & that its right out there.

I can't image how it must feel to be gay and NOT see yourself represented almost anywhere on TV.

[NewInNewJ.]

3. I checked it out.

It is mostly owned by a Canadian Company,

[eleny]

13. And Decorating Cents had an interracial couple on

When they did the room reveal, their three little kids were there, too.

They did a great job with the room for under 500 bucks!

[Syrinx]

4. from their website

Headquartered in Knoxville, Tenn., with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit and Atlanta, Home & Garden Television, which is now distributed in 80 million U.S. households, is one of the fastest-growing networks in cable television history. HGTV.com is America's leading online destination for home and garden information, with more than 2.5 million unique visitors each month. Internationally, HGTV owns 33 percent of HGTV Canada and provides much of the Canadian network's daily programming. HGTV branded programming can also be seen in Japan, Australia, Thailand, the Philippines, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and the Slovak Republic. HGTV is wholly owned by The E.W. Scripps Company (NYSE: SSP), which also operates the Food Network, DIY Do It Yourself Network and Fine Living, a new network which launched in 2002.

http://hgtv.com/hgtv/about_us/

[Nite Owl]

5. I watch them sometimes

and if you watch at the end a lot seem to be produced in Canada. That could have something to do with the attitude. Lowe's is often a sponsor.

[Crowdance]

6. Scripps owns them.

Here's the description of Scripp's holdings:
http://www.scripps.com/corporateoverview/businesses/index.shtml

I love this channel, too. Since the "election," it's the only thing I watch.

On edit: I see the Chairman is a big RNC donor. Oh, well, there goes my last TV pleasure.....

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

7. Gays and home improvement

I don't get this channel, but TLC has several home improvement shows, and I've noticed gay and lesbian couples on them.

[AntiCoup2K4]

8. Isn't that the channel Christopher Lowell is on?

That guy outflamers the "Fab Five" combined.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

11. I think he is on one of the Discovery channels.

It may be Discovery home channel. Who knows, there are so many of them now. :)

[Piperay]

9. I LOVE HGTV

I watch it all the time and I am straight. :-) I have noticed that they show lots of same sex and interracial couples who do projects on their homes, I think that is TERRIFIC! :thumbsup:

[HEAVYHEART]

10. Me

That's the only channel I watch anymore since I stopped watching all the whore media news channels. Yes I have noticed gay couples on there many times before. And I fucking love it!

[PassingFair]

12. My husband used to call it the "Homosexual and Gay T V" channel...

...so of course we noticed it! Always thought it was refreshing and LOVED the no-big-deal treatment that gay couples got on the channel.