Home improvement TV shows are a staple of multiple cable channels. These shows use industry experts to show how anyone can make their home fashionable and functional. If you dissect these shows, you can see how these shows gain and maintain an audience.

Personalities

Every successful home improvement show features one or multiple personalities who make people want to tune in. These individuals must use their charisma to draw viewers in and help them understand how to complete a specific project. Modern, energetic hosts have helped to evolve the genre from the technical jargon-heavy style of the past to the brighter style of today.

Many of these personalities achieve a level of fame that eclipses the overall show. An example of this is Chip and Joanna Gaines. The pair starred in the popular HGTV series “Fixer Upper” and have parleyed their fame into multiple companies and endorsement deals. After the pair moved on from “Fixer Upper” they were highly in demand by other networks and advanced their careers even further.

In addition to having charisma, these personalities must also be experts in their specific areas of home improvement. Viewers may come for the TV personality’s charisma, but their expertise will keep them watching.

If viewers tune into a show that claims that it will help them choose and install dark wood kitchen cabinets, they want a knowledgeable and experienced cabinet expert to present it to them. Similarly, they want actual interior designers to explain their thought process, and real estate agents to explain what sells and what doesn’t.

Viewers want to hear a story

One of the most timeless truths in entertainment is that people are attracted to a story with a beginning, middle and an end. You may not be aware of it, but each of these modern home improvement shows tells you a story while they instruct you in DIY projects.

Typical home improvement shows follow a broad formula:

• Problem – The living room floor is structurally unsound
• Formulation and execution of a plan – The experts examine the floor and make a plan to fix it. They purchase the supplies and execute the plan
• The finished product – They present the finished project and wrap up the segment/show

Years of consuming entertainment have psychologically conditioned viewers to expect this type of formula in any entertainment medium. Sticking to this outline gives viewers a sense of comfort and will keep them coming back.

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Viewers like to imagine what they can do to their home

Most people are not 100% happy with their homes. No matter how much energy and love they have put into it, there are always some things that they would change. Home improvement shows stimulate their imagination and gives them a chance to explore the possibilities within their own space.

They may watch the show and decide to hire a landscaper to finally redo the garden they’ve been putting off for years. They could also be inspired by a kitchen renovation to completely gut their own and start from scratch. Or to contact a Flat Roofing Specialist to install a new roof. These shows teach people that the possibilities are endless when it comes to the improvements they can make on their own homes.

Some viewers want to learn

Home improvement shows have been around for decades but, the current crop of shows is very different from those that aired in the 1970s. Past eras of home improvement shows placed a large emphasis on the correct procedures without worrying about making the show flashy to appeal to viewers.

However, many people use modern home improvement shows as a jumping-off point for their own personal projects. They learn the buzz words and trends, then research deeper to understand how to carry out the project.

Home improvement shows attract viewers because they feature big personalities, a cohesive story, and informational content but, there are also intangible reasons for their success that are hard to describe. According to CNN, the Review Home Warranties website is offering money to find out exactly what attracts viewers. The website offered $1,000 to someone who’ll watch a variety of home improvement shows and write down their detailed opinion.

The popularity of home improvement shows has endured for decades and, there’s no sign that the public taste will turn against them any time soon. People just love to watch them. The reasons for their success are many, but at their core, they appeal to every person’s desire to improve their living space and their lives.

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