Home shopping networks have been a staple for cable networks for quite some time. A number of different shopping entertainment programs are losing their biggest audience as more baby boomers are jumping on the cord cutting bandwagon.
One such network is iMedia Brands, which owns the shopping channel ShopHQ, which recently filed for bankruptcy in Delaware. iMedia Brands had been counting on the baby boomer generation to build up revenue since 2019, though the strategy didn’t pan out as planned.
Europe is also reporting a decline in home shopping networks. Home Shopping Europe is the second-largest TV shopping network in Germany and has also seen a rapid decline in viewership, resulting in a 41 percent drop in value since April of 2021.
“It’s just not the way people consume media anymore,” said equity analyst Oliver Wintermantel of Evercore ISI as reported by Bloomberg.
With so many other shopping options – such as Amazon – competing with home shopping networks, the channels simply aren’t getting the viewing numbers they need to stay afloat and leaving them wondering what the future of home shopping networks will look like if it even continues to exist much longer.
QVC and HSN have already ventured into the streaming world, trying to meet audiences where they are instead of trying to stick to linear television broadcasts. QVC+ and HSN+ are available now on Mozi, Frndly TV, Hulu Live, DIRECTV STREAM, YouTube TV, Roku, Amazon Freevee, and more. The channels also include more programming focusing directly on topics of interest to people over 50 to further drive up interest in QVC and HSN’s channels. Another perk? The streaming services are free.
Meeting audiences where they’re at instead of trying to entice audiences to keep a costly cable package is a better long-term plan for shopping networks. The networks are smart to keep up with the trends instead of sticking to strictly cable, which is quickly becoming a digital ghost town.