In November 2018, Chip and Joanna Gaines of the former HGTV series Fixer Upper announced on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, that they were in early talks to form a "lifestyle focused media network" with Discovery via their personal company Magnolia (that's where the name originated from).
They've been trying to get this channel onboard for a 2 years but there have been further delays particularly due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On August 4, 2020, it was announced that the network would launch in 2021. Fixer Upper, which had originally permanently ended in 2018, will resume production of new episodes in conjunction with the launch of Magnolia Network.
The channel will feature longform content with shows centered around community, home, garden, food, wellness, entrepreneurialism and design. Magnolia Network currently has 14 original programs in production and an additional 22 original programs in development.
In 2021, Discovery will have a preview of this channel's offering through their streaming service which will rollout internationally.
Before this streaming service became official Discovery EMEA decided to streamline their operations. Due to Discovery+, there's chances that they'll shutter a couple of brands.
In Africa, you basically saw the discontinuation of the underrated channel Fine Living through StarTimes with Discovery Science through Zuku TV as part of an strategic adjustment. Discovery Family in some way was created to replace Discovery Science and World with Real Time likely serving as a replacement for Fine Living through Zuku TV.
Starsat and StarTimes are currently searching for possible replacement for the channel. Maybe this channel will be the placeholder but there's a high chance it won't since StarTimes gave that impression that the replacement might not be another Discovery Channel.
If Magnolia Network were to make its way to Africa perhaps it will launch in favour of Travel Channel and/or Food Network which are currently on DStv. Then there's another chance this brand will be kept as a U.S. exclusive.
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