For any television series that goes past two seasons, RTR Media CEO Kit Redmond has a simple philosophy: evolve, or lose out on your next greenlight.

“The first season is all about getting the concept out there, the second season is about nailing it, third season – you evolve or die,” Redmond told Playback Daily. “Once you get into these long-running series, you constantly have to think about how you evolve the story, the host, the presentation, or you won’t be renewed.”

For the 10th season of Income Property, producers SKIT Media (a prodco owned 50/50 between RTR Media and Income Property host Scott McGillivray) are pulling out all the stops to keep the series fresh.Set to premiere on Feb. 26 on HGTV Canada, the latest seasons will be bolstered by four special vacation rental episodes airing in April, as well as changes to the format of the series.

The specials will feature McGillivray helping homeowners renovate vacation rental properties. The producers pitched the idea to Shaw Media with the intention of tapping into a fan base that has grown with McGillivary over the past 10 seasons and may now be looking into vacation rental properties of their own, explained Redmond. She also credited the dedication of creative producer Jenna Keane to present Shaw Media with a hook – such as specials – the broadcaster could use to promote the latest season of the show.

“This has satisfied both of those needs – the evolution of the show and giving a hook to help promote a tenth season,” Redmond said.

In addition to creating the specials, the producers also reformatted parts of the series in response to audience feedback, Redmond said. Viewers have said they wanted to see more of the nuts-and-bolts of the renovations, so the reno work is now being shown earlier in the show, Redmond said. The producers also worked with Shaw Media to look at the minute-by-minute ratings of Income Property to see how they could better hook viewers within the first 90 seconds. As a result, they have decided to make sure McGillivary appears earlier in the show to help catch viewers as they channel surf.

“We used that hardcore objective research to tweak the concept,” Redmond said.

Leading up to the premiere of season 10, HGTV Canada will also air a marathon of one Income Property episode per season, during which McGillivray and his team will “hijack” the network. During the marathon, 25-second promos will air between the episodes that give viewers an inside look at the series as well as clips from McGillivray’s personal life, such as his wedding video. The content will later be available online at HGTV.ca and YouTube, Redmond said.

Executive producers on Income Property along with Redmond include McGillivray and Keane. Jennifer Dick is series producer, Jane Van Duren is post producer and March Simard is director.

Photo: Scott teaches ET Canada‘s Roz Weston how to demo his cottage kitchen as his partner Katherine looks on. Credit: Karolina Klich