Tag Archives: HGTV

Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

HGTV seeks extraordinary Canadian small town to star in Hometown Takeover Canada

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From a media release:

Today, HGTV announced a nationwide call for Canadians to show their small-town pride and nominate their community to be featured in the new Canadian original series Home Town Takeover Canada, set to premiere on HGTV and stream on Citytv+ in fall 2026/winter 2027.

Beginning today, Canadians can visit hometowntakeovercanada.ca to share why their town is deserving of this life-changing makeover.

Previously announced as part of Rogers Sports & Media’s slate of new Canadian original unscripted series for HGTV, Home Town Takeover Canada is the first expansion of the popular U.S. “Home Town Takeover” franchise.

Home Town Takeover Canada is on a mission to spark a nationwide small town revitalization movement, starting with one special town. Inspired by the success of three seasons in the U.S., the new Canadian series will shine a light on a Canadian small town facing real challenges and give it the boost it needs to get back on its feet.

“We’re excited to celebrate and showcase the resilience, heart and deep sense of community rooted in small towns across our country,” said Kale Stockwell, Head of Original Programming, Rogers Sports & Media. “Home Town Takeover Canada will not only revitalize one special town but also share the stories of the people who make the selected town so unique.”

Home Town Takeover Canada will see support from HGTV stars Ben and Erin Napier (Home Town, Home Town Takeover) along with fellow Canadian designers and builders all contributing to make a big impact.

HGTV is looking for a Canadian small town that has a population of 20,000 or fewer and is asking for submissions to include photos and videos of the areas in the community that need the most love, whether it be public parks, main streets, gathering places or changemakers’ homes.

Home Town Takeover Canada is produced by RTR Media and will begin production in 2026. Selected location, host and broadcast details to be announced in the coming months.

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Featured, Industry News

Bell launches HGTV, Food Network and Discovery on Bell TV; signs deal with Rogers for specialty channel distribution across platforms

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From a media release:

Bell and Rogers announced today an agreement to distribute their respective specialty channels on their platforms.

As part of this agreement, Bell Fibe TV and Bell Satellite TV subscribers will now have access to popular Rogers Sports & Media channels HGTV, Food Network, Discovery, Magnolia Network, and Investigation Discovery, while maintaining their access to Bravo. These channels will be unscrambled for free for all customers starting today.

Additionally, Rogers Xfinity customers will continue to have full access to Bell Media’s specialty channel lineup, which includes USA Network, Oxygen True Crime, and CTV specialty channels, including CTV Comedy Channel, CTV Drama Channel, and CTV Sci-Fi Channel. Rogers Xfinity customers will retain access to HGTV, Food Network, Discovery, Magnolia Network, and Investigation Discovery.

Today’s announcement demonstrates a strong commitment to providing Canadian consumers with more value and choice. With a diverse programming offering new titles, international hits, and major Canadian productions, customers will enjoy a rich and varied viewing experience.

“Delivering the most compelling content to Canadians is our priority, and this agreement supports our goal. We’re offering more choice to our customers while ensuring Rogers customers have access to their favorite Bell Media shows, like Highway Thru Hell, Heavy Rescue 401 and Fear Thy Neighbor on our specialty channels. By expanding access to these channels, we’re giving viewers the content they love while strengthening the Canadian broadcast ecosystem.”

  • Kevin Cluett, Senior Vice President, Distribution and Product Platforms, Bell Media

“It’s exciting that more Canadians now have access to North America’s most recognized and beloved specialty television brands, like HGTV, Food Network and Discovery, and can access new titles and recent seasons of the most popular shows from Rogers Sports & Media. The premium content we’ve invested in is unmatched in the country. We’re bringing Canadians the shows they love, including hits like My Lottery Dream Home, Beat Bobby Flay and Expedition Unknown, as well as the new series Chasing the West with Drew and Jonathan Scott.”

  • Hayden Mindell, Senior Vice President, Television, Rogers Sports & Media
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Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Scott McGillivray and Bryan Baemler join forces in Renovation Resort

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From a media release:

Two of HGTV Canada’s biggest stars, Scott McGillivray and Bryan Baeumler, reunite in Renovation Resort (7×60), a one-of-a-kind vacation rental renovation competition series premiering Sunday, March 5 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on HGTV Canada and STACKTV. In this brand-new series distributed by Corus Studios, Scott’s recently purchased lakeside vacation resort needs a complete overhaul, so he enlists friendly rival and expert builder Bryan to help get his rundown property into shape. To transform the resort into a modern-day vacation destination, they bring in four professional designer-contractor duos who are up for the challenge. Each week, the pairs battle against each other in a riveting renovation showdown to impress Scott, Bryan, and the expert guest judges. In the end, the team with the best cabin wins the title of Renovation Resort Champions and a reward of $100,000.

At the start of the competition, the duos are assigned to one of four identical cabins that will be entirely renovated over the course of seven weeks. In each episode, they are tasked with remodeling a new space in the cabin, bringing their skills to transform the interior and exterior of the cabins into stunning retreats ahead of the peak rental season. Armed with their signature banter and keen observations, Scott and Bryan will check in regularly to evaluate the teams’ work and guide them through each cabin challenge. Facing off in this unique competition is dynamic husband-and-wife duo Rotem and Troy from Toronto, Ont., entrepreneurs April and Arnold from Chicago, Ill., business partners Jena and Sean from Toronto, Ont., and partners in life and work, Savannah and Kyle, hailing from Phoenix, Ariz. To learn more about the professional duos, visit hgtv.ca.

Throughout the season, Scott and Bryan are joined by expert guest judges, including Debra Salmoni (designer, Scott’s Vacation House Rules), Heather Greenwood Davis (travel writer and lifestyle host), Sarah Keenleyside (designer, Backyard Builds), Christine Tizzard (cookbook author and food stylist), Natalie Preddie (travel expert and writer), and Carson Arthur (landscape designer and television personality). Alongside Scott and Bryan, the judges will evaluate the renovations by assessing the quality, creativity, and functionality to determine the winning vacation cabin. In the first episode, the competitors’ mission is to tackle the primary bedroom and main-floor bathroom in one week. As these super-skilled teams work against the clock and under pressure, they will have to deliver exceptional designs if they want to be the best.

Renovation Resort welcomes series sponsor Tim Hortons, offering the competitors a well-deserved lunch of loaded wraps and bowls, plus an assortment of treats, coffee, and cold beverages throughout the season. In several episodes, SICO paint, available at RONA, highlights the brand’s line of Endurance and Prestige paint options to create inviting spaces. The curb appeal of the property is transformed with Techo-Bloc’s modern paving stones and landscaping products, allowing the competitors to extend their designs outside.

Renovation Resort is produced by M.E.M, Scott McGillivray is CEO, Angela Jennings is President, Nanci MacLean is COO, Jeff Baker is Head of Production and Kelly Wray is Executive Producer.

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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Randy Spracklin and his team are rockin’ it in Rock Solid Builds

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One of the most creative and entertaining home renovation shows on the air right now is Rock Solid Builds.

Airing Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on HGTV Canada, Rock Solid Builds is a flurry of construction, music, practical jokes and unique terminology all set in St. John’s, Newfoundland, and its surrounding communities. At the heart of the whirlwind is Randy Spracklin.

Spracklin is a third-generation builder and co-owner of Newfound Builders, based out of Brigus, Nfld., who reveals that despite wanting to grow his family-run business via additional staff—like his dad Scott, and team members Nikki, Paul and Josh, who appear on-camera—television wasn’t in his plans. In fact, if it wasn’t for checking his email’s junk folder and seeing one from production company Cineflix one day, Rock Solid Builds never would have happened.

“I got an email from Cineflix looking for an east coast TV show,” Spracklin remembers. “I looked at it and thought, ‘Is this real? Is this something?'” He responded to the email, did some Zoom calls, created a sizzle reel for Cineflix and things went from there.

“We’ve joked about TV over the years, but little did we think that we would be on it,” he says. “I guess the universe was saying, ‘You thought about it… here it is.”

Spracklin is Rock Solid Builds‘ jovial host, serving as the viewers’ guide to countless projects, from new builds to additions, kitchen and bathroom renovations and even the odd root cellar needing an update. A dramatic storytelling point in shows like these is when things go wrong, like a septic line being cracked or a floor suddenly needing to be re-supported. But where most hosts roll their eyes and worry for a segment or two, Spracklin takes it all in stride, usually with a joke and a crooked smile while wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with the word Mint. What you see on camera is exactly what Newfound Builders tackle every day from sun-up to sun-down, including weather that can suddenly turn nasty, to supply chain issues that can occur when you live and work on an island.

“We’re looking for specialty items and they can be manufactured all over the world and sometimes the only way to get here is by boat or by plane,” Spracklin says. “And, what we’ve faced in the past year are even more shortages so, yeah, there are cases where we can’t move forward and finish the plumbing or close in the ceilings. You have to be creative and try to work around that.”

Some of those items are simply stunning, serving as showcases to the magnificent work unveiled at the end of each instalment of Rock Solid Builds. Those reveals are immediately followed by the obligatory feast in the homeowners’ kitchen, a legit part of Newfoundland life.

“If you can’t have a drink with the homeowners, then you didn’t do a good job,” Spracklin says. “To be able to sit around a table with them and the team—because everyone puts a lot of work into it—and have a cheers about it… cameras or no cameras, we would be doing it.”

Rock Solid Builds airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on HGTV Canada.

Images courtesy of Cineflix.

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Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

HGTV Canada’s Island of Bryan returns for a hotly anticipated second season

From a media release:

After breaking HGTV Canada ratings records this past Spring to become the network’s most watched series of the past 10 years*, the #1 Specialty Canadian Original Program** Island of Bryan (8×60) returns for its second season on Sunday, February 23 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. The new season will continue Bryan and Sarah Baeumler’s family adventure in the Bahamas, as they race to put the finishing touches on their beach front resort, after a roller coaster year of construction. Viewers can catch up with a Season 1 marathon on HGTV Canada in the lead up to the premiere, beginning at 12 p.m. ET/PT on February 23.

Season 1 captivated viewers generating a 9% increase in audience growth from the premiere episode to the finale.*** The success has continued online, with a show reveal gallery receiving more than 3.2 million page views to date, while the Top 15 most-viewed videos on HGTV.ca belong to the series.****

With the budget maxed out and more at stake than ever, Season 2 will see Bryan and Sarah tackle the seemingly impossible task of transforming the Caerula Mar Club into their spectacular vision. It’s a race against time to complete the clubhouse, spa, and hotel block with the grand opening date set – but when tragedy strikes the Bahamas impacting the progress, Bryan and Sarah launch a fundraising effort to support the communities affected by Hurricane Dorian. Giving viewers an all-access pass to step-by-step renovations and designs, this season will see big reveals, behind-the-scenes chaos as they hire and train their large hospitality team, and capture memorable family moments when it comes to crunch time for the resort’s opening day.

Island of Bryan is produced by Si Entertainment in association with Corus Entertainment’s HGTV Canada.Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail