HGTV'S NEW SERIES 'THE STAGERS' LIFTS THE CURTAIN TO REVEAL THE ART OF HOME STAGING

KNOXVILLE, TENN. [June 18, 2008] -- The act of home staging, in which a designer turns a drab for-sale home into a picture-perfect masterpiece, is the fastest-growing trend in real estate today. In HGTV's new series The Stagers, viewers will follow a team from Canada's leading home staging company, Dekora, as they prep a home for sale in a matter of days. Viewers will get an inside look at the innovative ideas and creative techniques these efficient and resourceful designers use in order to help sell a home as quickly - and as profitably - as possible. The Stagers premieres on Sunday, July 20 at 10 p.m. ET/PT - following HGTV Design Star at 9 p.m. ET/PT - and will air in its regular time slot on Tuesdays beginning July 22 at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT.

In every episode, members of the Dekora team will completely transform one dowdy and dated home into the hottest property on the block. Each home, whether it's a snug 600-square-foot condo or an expansive 8,000-square-foot mansion, has aesthetic issues that make it unappealing to buyers. The homeowners, anxious to sell, bring in one of Dekora's professional home stagers to install a fast and budget-conscious design overhaul that will entice prospective buyers.

In the premiere episode, viewers will meet a recently-divorced homeowner who must sell her house quickly. The hard-to-sell home has a family-friendly layout, large rooms and a great fireplace that are hidden among the outdated wood paneling and uninspired furniture. Matthew, one of the show's professional stagers, rethinks the home and gets the whole house in shape within three days. Matthew redesigns the living room into a warm, modern space and reenergizes the rest of the home to reflect a contemporary style.

"The Stagers reveals fascinating and timely solutions that can benefit home sellers in today's sluggish market," said HGTV's Michael Dingley, senior vice president of programming. "The series illustrates the impact that basic design techniques can make to any home."

In future episodes, The Stagers will show viewers how to reinvent out-of-date spaces with simple design ideas that highlight the best features in any room of the house. Whether its artwork on the walls, updated lamps and other accessories, or just a simple furniture rearrangement, any room can look polished and professionally "staged."

About HGTV

HGTV, America's leader in home and lifestyle programming, is distributed to more than 95 million U.S. households and is one of cable's top-rated networks. HGTV's website, HGTV.com, is the nation's leading online home-and-garden destination that attracts an average of 5.2 million unique visitors per month. HGTV owns 33 percent of HGTV Canada and provides much of the Canadian network's daily programming. The network's branded programming also can be seen in 125 territories across all seven continents and its selected programming is available to service men and women on board Navy ships and through American Forces Radio & Television Service (AFRTS), which services more than 1,000 outlets in over 175 countries. Headquartered in Knoxville, Tenn., with offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles, Nashville, New York and San Francisco, HGTV is wholly owned by The E.W. Scripps Company (NYSE:SSP), which also operates Food Network (Foodnetwork.com), DIY Network (diynetwork.com), Fine Living Network (Fineliving.com) and Great American Country (GACTV.com).