It was a capacity crowd at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, as Scripps Networks Interactive, the home of HGTV, DIY, Food Network, Cooking Channel, Travel Channel and Great American Country, wrapped up its seven city Upfront tour in the Big Apple.

Over 1500 guests folded their umbrellas and filed into the ground floor space, as onlookers peered through the floor to ceiling windows (they might have caught a glimpse of one of the 20 network stars on hand, including Property Brothers Drew and Jonathan Scott, Bizarre Foods’ Andrew Zimmern and Food Network celebrity chef Bobby Flay). A gingham-shirted staff waited at the ready with champagne, wine and water with lime for anyone too thirsty to tackle the bar. And though the invite said cocktails, no one went home hungry. From tables groaning with comfort food like deviled eggs and meatball sliders, to elegant passed trays of lobster tacos and skewers of lamb with rhubarb glaze, Scripps made sure guests were well fed before getting down to business.

The job of getting to business fell to Steven Gigliotti, the company’s Chief Revenue Officer, who unveiled plans to use data insights to help media buyers. The Scripps Lifestyle Roadblock, aimed at achieving broadcast scale within the engaged Scripps environment by running spots on all six of networks during a single commercial break, “is just the beginning,” said Gigliotti. “We can precisely deliver the audience you’re looking for across all of our platforms with our single source purchase and first party data. We all know data is about consumer behavior, and our networks have always been targeted. Our content is naturally optimized. But that optimization gets super-charged when apply our data to create target audience packages.”

Gigliotti boasted of Scripps’ state of the art technology in the digital space. “We’ve collected first party data on 50 million consumers to form hundreds of audience segments,” he said. “So whether you’re looking for family vacationers, or home security and tech buffs or casual diners, we can tap into the right audience for your message, at the right time, on any of our platforms.”

Every network had ratings success stories and exciting programming news to share, but today’s Scripps focus is DIY Network, featuring rip-it-up, knock-it-down, how-to home improvement programming with a 50/50 gender balance that makes it one of the most male channels in the Scripps fold.

What’s the pitch?
“DIY Network is TV’s destination for home renovation and landscaping.Our expert hosts lead homeowners and viewers through the remodeling process, while providing inspiration and motivation to tackle these projects,” says Susan Leigh, Vice President of Ad Sales for DIY Network. “Ultimately that leads to activation as our fans DO what they VIEW.”

“The endemic advertising looks like content in our commercial breaks, and it serves as a resource to our audience the way that magazine ads serve as a resource,” says Jon Steinlauf, President of National Ad Sales and Marketing for Scripps. “A lot of the products you see in the breaks are what you need to fulfill the projects you see in the shows.”

“For the past four years, Beta Research ranks DIY Network number one in television for viewers (age 18+) who say they are ‘more likely to buy the products they see advertised on this network,’” adds Leigh. “And, 98 percent of viewing of the network is done live, meaning the advertiser message lives within our content and connects with these engaged viewers.”

How does DIY stand out from the competition?
“Through great in-show integrations, custom short-form vignettes and 360-degree tent poles such as Blog Cabin and America’s Most Desperate Landscape, advertisers can surround themselves with DIY’s original content and tap into the passion of our audience,” says Leigh.

Most rewarding thing about being on the show:
Finding out what an inspiration I have become for women – young women. To have the power to influence any woman to feel empowered is the most humbling experience ever!

Ever think you’d be a TV star?
I always knew I wanted to be an interior designer, but I never would have imagined in a million years that I would get to do it front of a million people. I truly pinch myself. Every. Single. Day.

Hidden talent?
Table tennis. I’ve become quite the shark.

Job you’d most like to have but know you never will?
Hands down: shoe designer.

Biggest on-set mishap?
Doing the “trust fall” off of a 7-foot tree stump and forgetting that my microphone strap pack was strapped to my spine. I definitely hurt myself and laugh every time I see that episode.

Funniest fan encounter?
Mr. T. Turns out he loves the show! Who would have thought?

Most challenging moment on the job?
Every moment is a challenge because it’s as real as reality can get. Things come in wrong, cabinets don’t fit and DIY projects don’t always work out. I love being able to be honest with my viewers and show all of the ups and downs.

Why should people watch your show?
I think it’s the perfect mix of construction, design, and laughter. My favorite thing to do in life is laugh, and I’m pretty sure that comes across in every episode.

On hand to promote their new original series were Isabella Rossellini, the subject of the documentary premiering on Ovation in May called Isabella Rossellini’s Green Porno Live!; Mick Rock (renowned rock ‘n’ roll photographer), who hosts On the Record with Mick Rock premiering in August); and Ted Lee, half of the sibling team The Lee Bros., southern culinary and travel experts and hosts of Southern Uncovered with the Lee Bros., premiering in June. (As Ted explained during the Q&A, brother Matt had to fly back to Charleston unexpectedly to be by his wife’s side after she gave birth two weeks early.)

While both On the Record and Southern Uncovered are travelogues of sorts, Rosellini’s doc seems the most avant garde of the three. It includes footage
of her live performances collected from over the years in which she dons paper animal costumes and ponders reproduction. Rossellini says she became interested in the subject six years ago when she went back to school to study animal behavior and conservation.

Mick Rock, who photographed rock legends including Lou Reed, Iggy Pop and David Bowie over the years, had the audience in stitches with his lengthy, candid responses to reporters’ questions. He admitted that he took his first photos after picking up a friend’s camera while on an acid trip, and referred to the English romantics and American beats whom he studied at Cambridge as “very rock ’n’ roll” in terms of their drug use, which apparently got under Rosselini’s skin. “I disagree that you need drugs to be creative,” she said. Rock countered that he hadn’t used drugs in years. “When I take photos, I don’t need them,” he said. “I just need massages, yoga and lots of coffee.”

Ted Lee stayed out of the fracas, saying only that, growing up in the ‘80s in Charleston, he was influenced by punk rock as well as two of his parents’ friends, one of whom was a caterer. The other, a fine artist. Since each episode of Southern Uncovered finds the Lee Bros. in a different city, he says he’s most excited about Atlanta, calling it “the South’s L.A.” in terms of both food and cultural offerings.

Favorite Social Media Platform
Rosselini: I do not use any social media.
Rock: Instagram, of course! Because it’s so heavily photo driven, it’s the most fun for any photographer!
Lee: Instagram. Love it. The stream of photos on our feed is like a never-ending travel magazine!

Guilty TV Pleasure
Rossellini: The news
Rock: The Walking Dead. Definitely my fave of all modern TV series.
Lee: Broad City

Most Recent Cultural Event
Rossellini: Isabella Gardener Museum in Boston
Rock: Hedwig and the Angry Inch, with my old friend John Cameron Mitchell. I also saw earlier versions with Neil Patrick Harris and Andrew Rannells. I’m a real fan. I shot the promotional photos and poster for the movie version.
Lee: Matisse exhibit at MOMA, NYC

Job You’d Love to Have But Probably Never Will
Rossellini: To study chimps in the wild like Jane Goodall
Rock: A hitman! It’s akin to being a photographer (often called a "shooter"). You aim and pull the trigger and if your aim is true, you nail the subject of your focus!
Lee: Pro skateboarder

Quote of The Day
“Would I like to make a movie and be paid $20 million? Yes. But no one is asking.” -Isabella Rossellini

– Reported by Michele Shapiro

Cynopsis Ad Sales: Mike Farina | VP, Sales | 203-218-6480

Copyright Cynopsis 2015