DIY Network Renews Blog Cabin, TV’s First Interactive Home Building Series

NEW YORK--(EON: Enhanced Online News)--DIY Network’s Blog Cabin, the first-ever home building television series, returns for a fourth season this year. Beginning Monday, Feb. 15, DIY Network and DIYnetwork.com invite the world to participate in “citizen design” to help renovate a 1970s ranch house. Situated just minutes from upstate New York’s Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, a world class amphitheatre and the infamous site of the 1969 Woodstock Festival, DIY Network’s Blog Cabin asks viewers to vote and blog on the design features of the ultimate vacation home. Premiering on Thursday, Aug. 19 (Time TBD), this primetime series also offers a chance for one lucky viewer to win the cabin.

DIY Network’s Blog Cabin is located two-and-a-half hours from New York City and is a vacation paradise with championship golf, award-winning fishing, skiing and more. Hosted by licensed contractor John DeSilvia (10 Grand in Your Hand), this year’s Blog Cabin features a team of DIY Network’s expert hosts – licensed contractor Jason Cameron (Desperate Landscapes), licensed landscape contractor Ahmed Hassan (Yard Crashers), licensed contractor Josh Temple (House Crashers), project manager Matt Muenster (BATHtastic!), and carpenter Marc Bartolomeo (Kitchen Impossible) – transforming a 3-bedroom, 2-bath 1970s ranch house into a modern-day retreat. On 5.64 acres, the Blog Cabin offers rolling hills, panoramic views and mountain breezes overlooking the old Woodstock area.

DIY Network’s Blog Cabin is building off last year’s success – nearly four million votes cast on DIYnetwork.com – by adding more voting features in 2010. DIY Network is asking voters to help choose up to 30 design elements for the renovations of the Blog Cabin’s master bath, kitchen, great room, and front and back landscapes. Other new elements include an indoor Webcam capturing DIY Network’s expert hosts as they renovate each room and a Facebook connect providing real time votes. Back by popular demand is the ability to vote up to 10 times a day and the opportunity for users to upload video of dream cabin locations. Voters can logon to DIYnetwork.com for a chance to win the cabin when the Blog Cabin Sweepstakes kicks off on Thursday, Aug. 19.

DIY Network’s Blog Cabin premiered in 2007 and was a huge success online and on-air. In its first three seasons, nearly 12 million votes combined on features ranging from the floor plan, roof, countertops, front door and more, were cast on DIY Network’s companion Web site, DIYnetwork.com. The third year of DIY Network’s interactive initiative resulted in over 4.7 million sweepstakes entries, more than 3.9 million blogger and online voting votes, 32.5 million page views and over 100,000 blog comments. Fifty-seven percent of visitors to DIYnetwork.com interacted with the Blog Cabin content, including a 360-degree tour of the completed cabin; multiple photo galleries; video exclusives for each episode of the TV series; a show schedule; a resource guide; and of course, a Blog Cabin Blog. Blogger and online voting resulted in over 3.9 million votes and 75,600 page views.

For more information on DIY Network’s Blog Cabin, and to participate in a blog about the construction and to vote on design elements of the 2010 cabin, visit http://www.DIYnetwork.com/blogcabin. Members of the media may also obtain additional press materials, talent bios and show images by registering at DIY Network’s online media newsroom. Viewers can also become fans of DIY Network and interact with other home improvement enthusiasts and do-it-yourselfers through Facebook and Twitter. DIY Network is available nationwide on DISH Network Ch. 111 and DIRECTV Ch. 230, and additional cable channel designations may be found by checking local listings and www.DIYnetwork.com/tv.

About DIY Network

DIY Network, from the makers of HGTV and Food Network, is the go-to destination for rip-up, knock-out home improvement television. DIY Network’s programs and experts answer the most sought-after questions and offer creative projects for do-it-yourself enthusiasts. One of the fastest growing digital networks and currently in more than 52 million homes, DIY Network’s programming covers a broad range of categories, including home improvement and landscaping. The network’s award-winning Web site, www.DIYnetwork.com, is a leader in the Nielsen Online Home and Garden category and features multiple resources, including thousands of do-it-yourself home improvement projects, expert advice, how-to videos and images, and user-friendly reference guides with step-by-step instructions.