After entering the free ad-supported streaming space in 2019 with a vision to be the next HGTV for lifestyle design on connected TV, The Design Network is ready for its next act.
And that act is creator-driven with a new creator partnership model and a rebranded tagline and mission as “The Home of Lifestyle Creators”.
It’s a model and goal that TDN started in earnest roughly six months ago but is already on its way with more than a dozen lifestyle creator partners signed on so far and 25 seasons of new content in the pipeline poised to roll out in coming months.
With creator efforts, TDN is both repackaging existing lifestyle creator content from social video platforms like YouTube into shows for linear and on-demand CTV viewing and producing new original series that aim to tap into and extend creator partners’ existing social communities and fan bases – both for viewers and brands.
That includes original series DIY House Call hosted by creator Kylie Katich, which premieres this Friday evening on June 26 and helps exemplify the company’s new creator-led approach (read more about that series further down).
TDN founder, CEO and family-owned furniture store heir Jason Harris sat down with us to give StreamTV Insiders the exclusive scoop on the newly launched creator model that aims to make the economics on FAST work better; creator partners and series in the pipe; new show formats and opportunities for monetization by bringing brands and sponsors into the mix.
A creator refocus fit for ad-supported free streaming
Initially launched on SamsungTV Plus roughly seven years ago, The Design Network has since gained a foothold in ad-supported streaming.
It counts distribution across 17 different platforms including Samsung TV Plus, Hulu, Tubi, Roku Channel, Dish, Pluto TV, Vizio and more. Distribution agreements include its linear FAST channel and VOD-only deals, as well as some for both.
As for audience, the free streaming channel boasts 90 million minutes of monthly viewing, an average watch time of 56 minutes and an audience that is 70% female across the core demo of 25-54 years.
But while Harris’ vision to deliver quality produced lifestyle design programming was met with adoption by FAST and AVOD platforms, the company ran into issues with the amount of content needed for free streaming and making the economics work around originals.
“The economics of a single FAST channel, when you’re talking about original productions, it’s just a beast. And it’s so hard to feed that beast,” Harris said.
Previously, TDN had hired an outside production company to cast, create, and so on for originals, but only produced three to four new series per year - which was the maximum it could handle given the economics of FAST.
However, “it just wasn’t enough to create the kind of channel experience that we need with the volume of content that’s needed,” Harris noted.
Not enough volume led to repeat airings and a gap in the amount programming needed by platform partners to keep things fresh, align with editorial and seasonal content calendars for better visibility and keep viewers more engaged.
“We want a better, more editorialized, stickier channel experience,” he explained.
At that point, TDN took a step back to survey the larger landscape and – like many others currently in the streaming space - couldn’t ignore the continued prevalence and power of the creator economy.
“We said, man, we’ve got to tap into what they’re doing…and we’ve been off to the races ever since.”
Once a creator is on board under the new model, TDN edits and reformats their existing video content into series ready for CTV and helps package and sell branded or sponsored social extensions.
It employs a revenue split with creators from the CTV advertising generated (after distributors get their share) and integrated brands and sponsors. The model also positions The Design Network to align and collaborate on future content releases from the creators as part of phase two, as well as produce original series.
This approach creates a win-win, according to Harris, as it’s a low-lift for creators who then get additive benefits of new reach and revenue streams from CTV.
TDN, meanwhile, not only taps into the creator economy but gets to significantly expand its content library more cost effectively. It can also offer more dynamic and robust programming for lifestyle design enthusiasts and have another draw for brand and sponsor integrations.
Pursuing creators, repackaging content
TDN isn’t the only one seeking to port social video creators into CTV and Harris shared how the company went about its new creator partnership model.
It started by identifying the top 100 creators across its key lifestyle verticals of Design, DIY, Food and Entertaining, Landscape and Gardening and Lifestyle and Wellness.
The focus is on those not only with social followings in the home lifestyle space, but creators who were already producing high-quality and typically longer-form programming, with a relatively scaled audience and robust collection of content already built up.
As one might imagine, with more parameters in place the potential field of candidates narrows, and Harris acknowledged that a creator pursuit is not necessarily for those faint of heart.
But once it gets in touch with creators, TDN then offers up a program to re-edit and package those existing social video content libraries into series for linear and on-demand CTV and to align with their new content launches moving forward.
In shifting content to CTV, the process isn’t simply redistributing YouTube videos on a new platform. Instead, TDN develops a content plan based on the creator’s existing library, edits content, handles graphics and animations, ensures content meets various platform partners’ respective specifications (of which it has more than a dozen), and takes out any social video indicators and commentary (such as “Please subscribe” or “Link in comments” etc.).
From there it works to create full seasons of episodes for CTV.
TDN first started using the new creator model with its No.1 show, which is called Tinybnb and features host Levi Kelly. The streaming network has already been doing that show for several years but will roll out a new season under the revamped creator structure that it plans to follow going forward.
It’s also rolling out the model with show and YouTube creator channel Homeworthy, which features tours of interesting homes across the nation.
After identifying the Homeworthy creators on social, TDN connected with them, developed a partnership and is licensing around 30 videos that will encompass three different seasons, which The Design Network calls the “Homeworthy Collection.”
What Harris categorized as TDN’s first major pure-play creator model project is a show called Living to DIY with creator Rachel Metz. She’s a talent the company has tried to align with for years without success, but where this new model proved to be “a great fit for her,” he explained.
In the first phase of the partnership TDN turned Metz’s YouTube content into three seasons of “Living to DIY” for CTV featuring six 26-minute episodes each.
New formats, brand integrations underpin creator concept
Another factor TDN’s revamped creator approach aims to address is the need for more unique programming.
Per Harris, the formats of shows it previously produced were getting a bit repetitive as many series episodes followed the same three-act structure and started to blur together.
With creator-led series, that’s also getting an overhaul as TDN tries out new formats that are more dynamic and aim to help differentiate both the channel brand and the various series it offers (as seen with DIY House Call).
Brand sponsorship and integration are a major part of the business for The Design Network, which also influenced the move towards a creator-driven concept.
“We felt like these creators that have authentically scaled audiences in the millions could be very valuable to brands as well.”
On that front, it’s pitching brands not just on integrations within creator-led shows but also via social extensions with the creator host they’re working with.
To Harris, this helps put The Design Network at the intersection of social media and TV “which is really where these brands want to come in and be part of the narrative.”
And it’s one where there are plenty of potential endemic advertisers as he noted the home space represents around a $400 billion consumer industry.
The creator model also brings benefits in that hosts coming from social video are often already used to working with integrated brands or sponsors.
In addition, creators on the TDN roster help with co-promotion, as they’re personally invested in success of their shows on CTV. As such, Harris said they’re usually happy to organically share, post and promote via their existing social channels (in addition to branded social extensions).
DIY House Call
Brands, creators and more dynamic formats are all part of the original series DIY House Call with Kylie Katich that premieres tonight and helps illustrate the new TDN model.
Katich is a creator popular with communities on TikTok and Instagram, where she’s known for making DIY project videos from her home in Salt Lake City. TDN successfully approached her to build the original series.
And the series doubles down on creators in that Katich brings in her influencer friends, driving to their homes (aka house calls) where she completes DIY projects relevant to their interests. For example, one episode features Katich friend and fitness influencer Courtney Cahoon, where the project might be a workout room (or a podcast studio, yoga room, etc depending on the influencer friend).
See a trailer below:
It’s also an example of how the lifestyle design vertical and related creator-push can be an attractive fit for brands.
TDN produced six episodes of DIY House Call and as Harris put it, “brands were digging it.”
Integrated brands include Ashley Furniture, The Container Store and Wooster Paintbrushes, as well as Jeep. The latter provided a lime green Jeep that Katich rides around in touting her home design wares and sometimes completes projects out of the trunk.
Brands weaved into the series are also tapping into social media extensions via posts from Katich. Per Harris, TDN structures a partnership for those based on the social post rates the creator partner works with, then produces all the content for the social media extensions and makes them part of a package it sells to brands.
Additional signed creators on the TDN roster so far include Genevieve Gorder, Amber Ingram from West on Willow, Ashley Tate, and Lauren Sephton, among others.
Together, the TDN creators have a combined social following of 12.5 million across platforms like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.
Benefits for FAST aims
Notably, for its FAST success aims, the new creator-driven approach significantly expands the free streaming network’s content pipeline, with plans to push hard in the second half of the year with the new concept.
With more programming in the library, it gives TDN a better chance to potentially secure more favorable placements within streaming distributor’s UIs. That would mean the network gets more visibility and chances to be discovered, which stands to help drive viewership, engagement, and in turn, monetization.
Harris explained that it’s working with distributor partners together to program. The more unique creator-led series and larger volume of content provide the opportunity for more editorial positioning of the network by platforms and ways to align with their own respective tentpole and seasonal FAST content offerings – a factor he said free streaming platforms are looking for from their content and channel partners.
And as a keynote by Wurl CEO Dave Bernath at the StreamTV Show last week laid out, UI placements and decisions by FAST distributors can be crucial in influencing the success - or failure - of channel owners on the platform.
But TDN’s new concept could be all the more appealing as multiple free ad-supported streamers themselves, such as Samsung TV Plus, Tubi and Roku for example, have been working to inject creators and their content into lineups through various avenues.
Linear streaming channel supports TDN brand building
While The Design Network has multiple VOD-only deals, which Harris said are “fairly lucrative with the ad revenue” it’s bringing in, he noted more money is typically made on the linear FAST channel feed.
And that lean-back viewership is what the company tends to prefer, Harris said, as VOD-only doesn’t do much to build the network’s brand name or affinity with consumers.
Which is necessary in order to achieve his ultimate aim of making The Design Network into an HGTV-style household name and destination for lifestyle design creators and enthusiasts.
“My goal and vision with this is really to be this incredible resource for inspiration for all things home and design,” Harris said. “And a place for discovery so that [viewers] can find these wonderful creators, they can have a lean back TV experience that’s on all day, and they’re learning how to live a better life at home.”