Getty Drew and Jonathan Scott with their former Editor-in-Chief Lauren Iannotti at the January 2020 launch of their magazine
Less than three years after excitedly launching their own magazine, HGTV stars Drew and Jonathan Scott just released its last issue. A spokesperson from the magazine’s publisher, Dotdash Meredith, has confirmed to Heavy that the new holiday 2022 issue of Drew + Jonathan Reveal magazine marks the end of the twins’ print publication.
Drew and Jonathan Scott Launched Magazine in January 2020
The Scott brothers launched their magazine, Drew + Jonathan Reveal, at a January 2020 kickoff event in New York City, excited to extend their reach and provide more home inspiration in print. Across the 12 issues they’ve overseen, the magazine has featured many celebrities in their favorite spaces, including talk show Tamron Hall, NFL player Russell Wilson and singer Ciara, actress Melissa McCarthy and Jonathan’s girlfriend of three years, actress Zooey Deschanel.
On October 14, 2022, Jonathan shared the cover of Reveal’s new holiday issue on Instagram and Drew shared the post to his Instagram Stories. Neither mentioned on social media that their print magazine is shutting its doors, but in the new issue’s Letter from the Editors, the twins announced the publication’s end to their readers.
“We focus on togetherness and gathering in these pages, which make up the final issue of Drew + Jonathan Reveal magazine,” they wrote. “We do so with profound gratitude for the community you’ve helped create, one that celebrates happy and healthy homes, full of love and laughter and—most important—everyone together.”
The Scotts’ quarterly magazine, which cost $9.99 per issue or $20 for the year, was one of 60 new titles introduced in 2020 — down from 134 magazine launches the year before, mainly due to the pandemic, according to UPM Papers. It was one of several quarterly, celebrity-helmed titles launched over the last couple of years, including magazines Drew Barrymore, Ayesha Curry, and fitness guru Tracy Anderson, all trying to follow in the footsteps of Joanna Gaines’ successful Magnolia magazine, which launched in 2016.
But the magazine industry is notoriously challenging to succeed in, especially with so many people finding the information they need online and the consolidation of media companies.
In late 2021, Meredith — the publisher that launched the Scotts’ magazine — was acquired by Barry Diller’s IAC for $2.7 billion, and became DotDash Meredith. According to Reuters, the company announced in February 2022 that it was moving six popular magazines to all-digital formats: InStyle, Entertainment Weekly, EatingWell, Health, Parents, and People en Español.
Around the same time, the company promoted Reveal’s editor-in-chief, Lauren Iannotti, to oversee Real Simple magazine, and announced the news on Instagram. At the time, the company said she would still manage the Scott brothers’ and Rachael Ray’s magazines.
The ‘Property Brothers’ Still Have a Bunch of Tricks Up Their Sleeves
GettyDrew and Jonathan Scott attend Criss Angel’s premiere show in Las Vegas in 2019
Despite their magazine’s disappearance, the Scott brothers aren’t going anywhere. In their final letter to readers, the Scotts said that in place of the magazine, they plan to share much more home inspiration and advice on their website, and assured HGTV fans that they’re “gearing up” for new seasons of their shows, including “Property Brothers: Forever Home,” a newly announced lineup for “Celebrity IOU,” and “Brother vs. Brother.”
The twins are still hugely popular TV hosts and producers, so as the end of their contract with HGTV approached, there was a bidding war among networks and content producers. But on September 14, the brothers announced they’d decided to stick with HGTV and their parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, by signing a massive three-year “talent deal.”
“We were definitely wooed by many other major players and some of them who really, really wanted our brand on their platform,” Jonathan told Variety, but added that it made sense to stay where they’re already right at home.
“It just feels right with HGTV because we’ve been a family,” he said. “It’s not even just that it’s a job for us and a workplace. The relationship we have, it’s a symbiotic relationship where we develop the shows and we listen to the fans. We’re engaging directly with the fans with over half a million messages a week, each, from our fans, so we know what they want and the network has always been up to that with us.”
Through the twins’ production company, Scott Brothers Entertainment, they’ve become successful show producers on top of being sought-after hosts and renovation experts. They executive produce several shows on Discovery+ — including “Trixie Motel” starring drag superstar Trixie Mattel and “Celebrity IOU Joyride” with Ant Anstead and Christy Lee — as well as popular HGTV programs like “The Nate + Jeremiah Home Project” and “The Great Giveback” with Melissa McCarthy and Jenny Perusich.”
They’ve also developed a cartoon called “Builder Brothers Dream Factory” and are hoping their deal with Warner Bros. Discovery even leads to acting opportunities.