Restored by the Fords drives up ratings
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Michelle Clancy
| 25 February 2018

The freshman season in the US of HGTV's home renovation series Restored by The Fords, starring siblings Leanne and Steve Ford, averaged a .64 live plus same day rating among viewers P25-54 during its eight-week run.

According to Nielsen, among viewers P25-54, this was the highest-rated debut season of a series on the network since March 2017. Restored by The Fords attracted 11.3 million total viewers since its premiere in January, helping HGTV hold its position as the No 2 ranked cable network among women 25-54 during the Tuesday timeslot. The strong performance led the network to order 14 new episodes of the series.

"We love the phrase 'first season success,' but the live plus same day ratings performance of Restored by the Fords is doubly impressive when you consider how much the television landscape has changed in the past five years," said Loren Ruch, senior vice president of programming, partnerships and special projects for HGTV. "It can take years for a series to gain meaningful traction with target audiences, so finding talent who have the expertise, universal appeal and on-camera magic to hit the target right out of the gate is a huge win."

Restored by The Fords follows siblings Leanne, an interior designer, and Steve, a licenced contractor and renovator, as they enliven older Pittsburgh homes with beautiful and unique custom designs. In each episode, Leanne creates a new look and floor plan for homes, while Steve executes her vision to maximise the charm and functionality of outdated properties.