CREA has been successful in its efforts to have Realtor vs. Realtor, a Canadian real estate reality TV series, pulled from the air. CREA took issue with the unauthorized use of its Realtor trademark in the series’ title and threatened legal action if the program continued to broadcast.
In October, HGTV quietly removed Realtor vs. Realtor from its Wednesday night timeslot, as well as from its website, after only a handful of the 13 planned episodes had aired. The broadcaster and its parent company, CanWest, are now negotiating a settlement with CREA.
“The series is not currently on our schedule,” says Jaclyn Atwood, senior publicist for HGTV. Stating that “until a settlement has been reached, it’s inappropriate for us to comment on any other information regarding the series,” Atwood declined to share any further details, or to confirm if the series would return to HGTV’s schedule at a later date under a new name.
HGTV had promoted the program as “the ultimate real estate challenge show, where two top-notch real estate agents face-off to find desperate home buyers the house of their dreams…They have diametrically different styles but both real estate agents share one thing in common – they’re both intensively competitive. Realtor vs. Realtor follows them as they go head to head to sell houses and earn the commission that comes with it…”
CREA was unhappy with the way ads for the series were visually portraying Realtors – as battered combatants, complete with blackened eyes and boxing gloves.
CREA lawyer Bill Harrington, in a memo to members detailing the association’s concerns, said, “This show is intended to appeal to the basest of viewer instincts by glorifying disreputable behaviour on the part of real estate agents…conduct that violates the spirit and likely the letter of the Realtor Code.”
Harrington added, “Not only is the value of the trademark diminished by this type of broadcast, it harms the reputation and public standing, if not the livelihood, of hard-working Realtors, who pride themselves in offering professional real estate services that comply with the highest ethical and professional standards.”
CREA sent HGTV a “cease and desist” letter in September, advising the broadcaster that, if they didn’t stop airing the series, CREA intended to immediately commence legal action and seek an interim injunction. HGTV agreed to pull the program and to seek a resolution with CREA.
Two of the Realtors who were featured on Realtor vs. Realtor don’t share CREA’s concerns about the series.
Chris and Les Sohar of Re/Max Realty Enterprises in Mississauga, Ont. competed for a sale on the October 14th program. The episode began with Chris and Les making individual listing presentations to a couple who were looking to buy a home. Each of the Sohars then took the couple to a number of showings; Les ended up making the sale. Their competitive natures were the focal point of the program – in a good-natured way, they made it clear how much winning the sale meant to each of them.
When asked if the show should come back on the air if it keeps its same focus on competitiveness, they both responded positively, as long as that competitiveness is portrayed in a realistic way.
“If you’re looking for two Realtors to battle it out, to fight it out in a negative way, then I would say no; if you’re looking for good, competitive behaviour, which is really what we all do every single day, I’d say sure, absolutely,” says Les.
“I think you can certainly show the competitiveness with agents in the real world, without making it look negative,” Chris says.
The Sohars enjoyed their experience and praised the production team. “They did a really good job representing us,” says Chris. “I really have nothing bad to say about the whole process,” adding that she would go on another episode “in a heartbeat” if the series does come back on the air. – Kathy Bevan
