HGTV’S SMASH HIT ‘CELEBRITY IOU’ IS THE HIGHEST RATED FIRST-YEAR SERIES IN NETWORK HISTORY ACROSS MULTIPLE DEMOS
May 27, 2020
New York [May 27, 2020] HGTV’s ratings juggernaut, Celebrity IOU, is the highest-rated first-year series in network history among P25-54, W25-54, M25-54, P2+ and households. It also is the #3 new unscripted original series in all of cable among P25-54 and the #4 among W25-54 so far this year. During its first season, which aired on Monday nights at 9 p.m. ET/PT, the series attracted more than 25.7 million total viewers. Hosted by the network’s popular real estate and renovation experts Drew and Jonathan Scott, who also serve as executive producers, Celebrity IOU spotlighted life-changing renovations from Brad Pitt, Melissa McCarthy, Viola Davis, Michael Bublé, Rebel Wilson and Jeremy Renner. The second season of the series is tentatively slated to premiere in early 2021.
“Celebrity IOU touched the hearts of millions of fans with compelling, emotional stories at a time when we needed positive and inspiring content,” said Jane Latman, president, HGTV. “Record-breaking ratings were only one aspect of its success.”
With the addition of Celebrity IOU to its programming roster, HGTV now holds four of the top 15 new unscripted series across all of cable for 2020 to-date with W25-54 -- more than any other network. Three additional new series -- Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Flipping 101 w/Tarek El Moussa and Unsellable Houses – make the list
Season one of Celebrity IOU delivered a 1.24 live plus three-day rating among P25-54, a 135 percent increase over year-ago levels and a 66 percent lift over the prior six-week time period. Among W25-54, the series garnered a 1.63 L3 rating, a 133 percent increase over year-ago levels and 65 percent lift over the prior six-weeks.
Celebrity IOU was the #2 cable program among upscale W25-54 and a top 5 cable program among P25-54, W25-54 and upscale P25-54 during its run on Monday night. It garnered strong L3 ratings among upscale audiences, delivering a 1.53 among upscale P25-54, a 1.90 among upscale W25-54 and a 1.18 among upscale M25-54. The series also delivered a 0.84 L3 rating among M25-54, a 141 percent increase over year-ago levels and a 66 percent lift over the prior six weeks. In addition, Celebrity IOU garnered a 1.48 L3 rating among P2+ and a 2.88 household rating, a respective 162 percent and 145 percent increase over year ago levels.
Celebrity IOU also delivered strong viewer engagement on HGTV’s digital platforms. Since the series premiered April 13 on HGTV GO, Celebrity IOU has been the #3 most-watched show and the season premiere has been the most-watched episode on the platform. In addition, all six of the season’s episodes each delivered more than 1 million minutes watched in their first three days on HGTV GO. Also since the April 13 premiere, Celebrity IOU grew its social activity across HGTV’s social platforms by more than 420 percent, delivering more than 6.3 million total video views across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Digital support for the series has generated more than 3.6 million page views on HGTV.com, and HGTV.com/CelebrityIOU is the most visited show page on the network’s site since the series premiere. The show has been HGTV’s #1 most social series in the past year, and the May 18 season finale was HGTV's #1 most social episode in a year.
Celebrity IOU is produced by Scott Brothers Entertainment.
ABOUT ‘CELEBRITY IOU’
Celebrity IOU is a new blockbuster HGTV series where Hollywood A-listers express their deep gratitude to the individuals who have had a major impact on their lives by surprising them with big, heartwarming home renovations that bring everyone to tears. The star-studded, uplifting series features Drew and Jonathan Scott as they help each award-winning celebrity with a special renovation.
ABOUT HGTV
HGTV delivers families with relatable stories, superstar real estate and renovation experts and amazing home transformations that inspire a passionate audience. For anyone seeking entertaining and aspirational home and lifestyle content, HGTV is the place to be. HGTV offers: a top 10 cable network that is distributed to more than 86 million U.S. households; a website, HGTV.com, a website, HGTV.com, that attracts an average of 10.2 million people each month; a social footprint of 21.2 million; HGTV Magazine, a monthly publication that reaches more than one million readers and exclusive collections of home-oriented products through the HGTV HOME™ consumer products line. Viewers can become fans of HGTV and interact with other home improvement enthusiasts through Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram. HGTV is owned by Discovery, Inc., a global leader in real life entertainment spanning 220 countries and territories, whose portfolio also includes Discovery Channel, Food Network, TLC, Investigation Discovery, Travel Channel, MotorTrend, Animal Planet, Science Channel, and the forthcoming multi-platform JV with Chip and Joanna Gaines, Magnolia, as well as OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network.