Chiding HGTV

After reading here about the dismal lack of garden-related programming, especially on HGTV, I had to agree. I have been getting their e-newsletter for several months and visit the site (hgtv.ca) now and then. And of course I love watching garden shows.

So, I went to the site and searched all their programming sections including casting calls for new shows. Aside from re-runs of some of the old stand-bys (less than 20% of total programming by title), there is nothing. They say they have a block from 5 am to 8 am every day, but I checked the listings and it's actually one hour, from 6 -7 am. There are a few others dotted around.

I sent them a gentle but firm note saying I was disappointed and felt they could do better. I think we should all let them know what we think about the rotten job they are doing. It wouldn't hurt to write to some of the 'stars' of their shows either -- many of them still have websites, such as Kathy Renwald, Mark Cullen, not sure about David T. or Stephen W-G.

Squeaky wheels on the garden barrow!

Andrew

I gave up watching HGTV. All the gardening shows are reruns, to the best of my knowledge.

Here's a link to a Denis Flanagan site where there is an e-mail addy for him. http://www.horttrades.com/contactus/?c=6

Joan

And I dare say we would all get the same form letter in reply that I and some othermembers of the Calgary Hort Society got a couple of years ago when we wrote to complain abo9ut the lack of garden shows!

They seem to think that 5-8am is an optimal time for people to watch TV. Certainly not in my house!

I feel the very same way about their lack of garden shows!!! Wrote a letter, about two months ago....the repetition of reality this and reality that of house and home, is currently the going theme??? Take a gander on the US programs, HGTV???? E

As I expected (and these posts confirm) I got a form response about the huge volume of mail they get. Good for them.

I just don't watch HGTV any more. I'm not interested in watching paint dry. Maybe some of their sponsors need to hear that...

Well I do find myself watching a few of the reno shows and the currently popular buying and selling shows but not regularly. I have an idea which I might put into practice today - it snowed last night and I dont intend to go driving anywhere today except my aquasize class nearby this afternoon. I am going to take my TV guide and count the numbers of garden programs vs house programs -- and the general time of dayl Then I will post that info here and we can all write to HGTV and demand they take the word garden off their name or give us more garden programs! LOL! Think it will work? ROFLMAO! Maybe I would be better off to spend my day vacuuming and dusting. Seems to me I havent done that for a while. Oh and maybe I better get off this computor and take the dogs for a walk!

I'm game for that! How many renovations can one person watch? We want flowers! We want plants! We want flowers!

HGTV -
irritates me,
with a paucity of shows
on anything that grows -
paint and paper, wood and tile,
bores you senseless in a while...
Give me beauty on a stem,
give me bulbs and shrubs and hems
give me nature - give me birds
give me some encouraging words
for the teeny tiny sprouts
that have just come peeping out
of the dirt in early spring,
heck, just give me anything
that isn't made for walls or floors
I want shots of life outdoors!
I want flowers;
for hours.

2zeus that is fabulous!

And instead of counting HGTV programs or vacuuming and dusting I spent the morning on the computor!

Great poem . Love it.
I've dropped the whole Lifestyles package from Starchoice, in protest of what HGTV has to offer. Can't say I miss any of the other channels in the package either. There are a few gardening shows out there that are as good or better than HGTV has to offer, and not in the wee hours of the morning.

Only reason I got the package in the first place was because it had Home and GARDEN tv! No garden left, it's all home - renovations, etc.

Been there, done that, and how many people being rude about someone else's choice of decor can you watch before it starts to pall?

Here is my idea for HGTV but I don't know how to contact them. Picture a series on HOW TO: Steal from your neighbors garden, collect indigenous plants for profit, how to make one plant become many, best day at the nurseries with my collected cuttings, Back road rock collecting, city trees in your home, Duck tape for beginners, duck tape for experts, using septic run off in your irrigation....... Then at the end of the show we will teach the proper gardening ediquette. How indigenous plants rarely survive and how plant species are at serious risk.
Think about a name like "Gardening on Parole" the husband and wife are dressed in orange coveralls in all the demo scenes and camo outfits in the collection scenes.
Let me know who to contact.

This message was edited Mar 10, 2006 10:29 AM

http://www.hgtv.ca/contact.asp

Great ideas, Soferdig. I don't know if the programmers are starved for ideas or are just following what they see as viewer preferences.

Maybe their marketing research tells them that home-reno is where the $$$ are and gardening won't bring in ad revenue. I'm sure Home Depot wouldn't agree when May rolls around.

And yet I'm always hearing that gardening is "the fastest growing hobby in Canada"

Yes but probably not the same kind of big bucks there are in the renovation/home decorating fields.

But a grden is an extension of our houses.................yes! We just purchased the Shaw on demand pkg........movies and things**** so very tired of looking at hgtv????

Watched two interesting garden programmes on a french station on Monday, learnt how to start cactus seeds and then one on Sissinghurst. Yum. Understood maybe one word in 4 or 5.

HGTV stopped being interesting years ago. Somebody must be watching all tht stuff though. No G in there.

Inanda

I wish I had a schedule of all the gardening programs on every station, as they are scattered about. But when HGTV's 'gardening block' is on - I'm busy getting breakfast and making sure the boys get off to school. They must pigeon hole all gardeners as either working out of the home or retired with no kiddies at home and we'll all be inclined to get up at the crack of dawn to watch TV. I don't know about you guys, but I'd love a couple of gardening shows on a Sunday afternoon, or on primetime even....oh, aren't I bold?!

2zeus - Your poem is perfect!

Soferdig - LOL I'd watch your shows!! What, no duck tape series for intermediate level?

Sandy

You guys need to get Dish 500. I get to prerecord all of my garden shows and watch them at prime time. Though they are all reruns and I have to delete most of them. All of our best garden shows are on saturday and sunday AM. Kind of prime time. 8am -10:30 am. Though we have one on at 5am on everymorning.

Is that like Tivo where it would search for all gardening related shows and tape them for you? Yep, got to get me one of those!

Sandy

Thanks for the link above. Message has been sent.

Ann

I have other HGTV ideas for my show. How to use chipper shredder for other non-garden ideas.(see Fargo), 2. How to use fertilizer to move large objects in your way, (Boom), 3.Remote control garden tools: Rototiller, Lawnmower, etc.(Chasing the neighbor you don't like etc.), 4. How to keep deer out of you garden.(Paintball gun techniques in hunting garden pests). 5. Failures in garden ideas you have had.(There is no end to this one). 6. Garden mythbusters.(Vinegar on white flies, slug bait in a can, 7. How drinking beer increases your creative designs in your garden, .......

Hysterical!

Ann :Be sure to post the answer from HGTV if you get one. I'm betting it will be the same letter I got 2 yrs ago!

I nominate Soferdig for new creative programming director for HGTV. What entertainment we would have! I emailed HGTV (not about Soferdig, LOL), but when I sent it, I got an error message, so I'll keep trying.

Sandy

I second the nomination!

Here's the standard reply I got from HGTV.CA:

Other Comments and Concerns

Thank you for your message and interest in Home and Garden Television.
Due to the volume of mail we receive, individual responses are not
always possible. You will receive a personalized response if the
information you are requesting is not addressed below. Please be
patient
as we experience a high volume of inquiries.

HGTV U.S.
If you are trying to reach HGTV U.S., please visit www.HGTV.com or
email
comments@hgtv.com.

There followed the list of email addresses for their shows, as well as information about the newsletter, contests, etc.

Basically, it said... "Go bother someone else." Why am I not surprised?

Don't feel bad there are too many people in the world. We need a good bird flu virus to take about 40-60% of the people of the world off the map. I always tell my niceces about the best way to get a good immune system is to eat lots of dirt and cow manure. So bird flu will leave only gardeners, ranchers, septic pumpers, and veterinarians. This is a good way because it does not cause a nuclear winter. Talk about zone changes! I'm sure HGTV knows what is best for us. Maybe we should start a web site and talk about gardening and exchange plants etc. Forget about TV and "LETS GARDEN ON DG!".

Ann guess what that is not the same letter I got! Actually mine was pretty much the same just a lot longer and still obviously a form letter. I suspect their computors just spit out that answer to everything that comes in.

Haven't been back to this thread for a few days, but I got a message (after I posted here) that my web comment had NOT gone through. Am I surprised?

I plan to write a real old fashioned letter, I think.
Ann

I just received the standard reply you got, Andrew. I'm sure they get tons of email but I wonder if anybody actually reads it. Is there a pile for 'gardening programming complaints' I wonder?

Sandy

Yeah, the "round file" beside the desk.

Maybe we are going about this in the wrong way. We might get better results if we approache the OTHER program directors, asking for some good gardening shows. Explaining our predicament. Telling them of all the money we spend on gardening. They probably think we are all watching HGTV. Hah!

If you want to get HGTV's attention express your concerns to those who advertise gardening products on HGTV. I am not sure if there are any gardening related ADVERTISERS on HGTV because I don't watch it anymore because the gardening aspect dropped to near Zero. The people who do the advertising are the people who command HGTV's ear.

Maybe we need to take a poll to collect some statistics; Gardening vs Renovating. Many people garden on an annual basis or even all year long, I doubt they renovate each year.

Edit: (who might advertise) to (who advertise)

This message was edited Feb 6, 2006 7:00 PM

Well, I got an e-mailed complaint through. At this point have received the standard reply. Am waiting ........

Ann

I think the advertising $'s is the key. Lots of big box stores out there to drop money on commercials for reno shows but not willing to spend any in the off season especially for gardening related.

I think Ironwood is right, to forget HGTV, they give what the advertisers want, it's them we need to go after.

Maybe a boycott by Dave's garden members on Home Depot till we get the advertising in the right place might be kind of neat.

I can see it now, thousands of angry women standing with palm fronds as placards with "We want gardening shows" written on each leaf in front of a Home Depot store!

In todays genetic enginering it won't be long. Anyway I hear gardening in heaven is great. You get to pick your zone for every bed you develope. We know God loves gardeners! Just think of a world of people who like manure and dirt. Howwwwwwwwww wonderful.