More host changes in the home shopping world, some welcome, some not.
First of all, we were happy to learn on Facebook that Kristen Keech is returning as a host to JTV. She had moved back home to the East Coast to be with her family — including her grandma — and was working for the online selling forum ChicShack Boutique.
But it sounds like she missed her friends back in Knoxville, and this week she did a live broadcast to announce she was coming back to the home shopping network. But apparently the broadcast wasn’t correctly linked to FB, so not many people saw it.
Kristen later posted a video on FB, which we saw, that explained what had happened and re-announced her JTV return.
Her fans were thrilled (one dubbed her the Morganite Queen), and so are we. She’s a class act, very informative, and we always admired her makeup and clothes.
So welcome back Kristen! She returns next month.
On the flip side, longtime QVC host Mary Beth Roe is retiring, next March we believe. God bless that woman for her sweet demeanor!
She’s another host who was always good at explaining products, including our first love: jewelry.
Mary Beth said that she had often missed family events because of work and her career, and now she wanted to spend more time with them and her grandkids. We were told she recently downsized from a house to a condo on a golf course. She deserves all the best.
Tags: JTV, Kristen Keech, Mary Beth Roe retiring, QVC
Homeshoppingista's Blog By Linda Moss 
June 19, 2024 at 6:25 pm |
Mary Beth Roe has paid her dues. Will miss her. I remember seeing her and Judy Crowell on the old Shop HQ, can’t remember the name, something like ValuVision or something like that. Then they came to QVC. Always enjoyed both of them.
June 19, 2024 at 6:52 pm |
Mary Beth wanted to leave in August but QVC asked her to stay till March. She is a wonderful Woman and show Host and will be missed by so many.
June 19, 2024 at 7:00 pm |
Great news about Kristen. I never caught why she left just assumed it was the downsizing crap going on throughout home shopping. I enjoyed her shows. Sad about MBR, but we have time to catch her shows before she sails off into the sunset! It seems when these channels hire replacements they are not as professional (likely cheaper salaries) and unlike QVC of old they are not meant really to stick around and form relationships with customers (well, virtual relationships anyway). I still enjoy Rick, MBR, Jaybe Brown and other old school hosts. I used to like Jane Tracey years ago but she has become unwatchable. Just like I feel the White House stands there and tells us lies that I can see are wrong with my own eyes it is insulting when the woman is an obvious size 14/16 always saying she is a small or extra small. Anyway, I always enjoy your updates – Home Shopping doesn’t really have the YouTube channels/Bloggers you would hope to have. This blog is really the only place I know for such news and you do awesome!
June 19, 2024 at 7:06 pm |
Stay out of politics, unprofessional on your part…..
June 24, 2024 at 11:08 pm |
Clearly uninformed if she thinks the White House is lying. Must be a simple minded Fox viewer.
June 19, 2024 at 8:26 pm |
I wish Kristen good luck on JTV. And Mary Beth deserves retirement; I hope she enjoys it after so many years in the business.
June 20, 2024 at 12:43 am |
What I can remember of Kristen she seemed nice; glad she made it back to JTV. JTV has gone through so many hosts; it’s hard to keep track. Of course, it seems to be the norm everywhere now.
I don’t watch QVC any more, but I do like MBR. She seems ready to retire, and I hope she has some peace and relaxation. Also, she’s going while the going is good; who knows what will happen in the future.
June 21, 2024 at 1:16 pm |
Good luck to Kristen on her return to JTV, and I hope MBR enjoys her retirement. She has always been a good host. Leaving Qurate doesn’t seem to be a bad idea, especially with recent developments.
June 21, 2024 at 6:19 pm |
I really enjoyed MBR and the gold shows she hosted. Times sure have changed. I sort of thought Mary Beth would retire after her car accident, but I’m glad she recovered and carries on. I wish her the best in retirement (and I would have told QVC “no” to staying longer).
Regarding Kristin, she may have realized she needs the money at JTV. Just my guess.
Oh, I believe the old shopping network was CVN.
June 21, 2024 at 11:10 pm |
I vaguely remember Kristen; I hope she’s successful returning to JTV.
If I were MBR, I wouldn’t have agreed to stay till March. I wish her the best.
Temperatures are up everywhere with the start of Summer. Stay cool everyone.
June 22, 2024 at 8:51 pm |
You might have already covered this. And quite honestly, I am hesitant to mention it, because I don’t want these comments to turn ugly. However, Nikki Stanzione has a interesting new position. She is a campaign correspondent for The Right Side Broadcasting Network, which covers Donald Trump’s campaign events. I am watching her right now. Like I said, I don’t want the comments to get ugly, so I will understand if you delete my comment. Personally, I am happy for her. There is more to life than clothes and jewelry and makeup and vacuum cleaners and pots&pans. In 2021, Libby Floyd threw her hat in the ring for governor of California. (Although she was not able to get on the ballot.) I like it when people shake things up in their lives. At 52 years old, I’m trying to do that right now. I think Niki might be done with home shopping and she returning to her journalistic roots. I say good for her. Here is the link to the video where I saw her. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4QUTSgkdxw
ps… I am not a D or an R. I do follow politics to a certain degree. However, I do not put my faith in politicians.
June 24, 2024 at 12:44 pm |
Interesting. I don’t think it was Nikki’s decision to leave home shopping. She went from JTV to LC, left LC to go to Shop HQ where she was let go after a short time, tried to go back to LC mostly zooming, she did go back to Texas for an in house hosting gig around Christmas, but apparently they did not want her on a mostly zoom in basis, so she needed a job. I know she was doing something part time in NY, on air, and it probably led to this. Good luck to her.
June 23, 2024 at 11:48 am |
Good morning, early birds. Airing the place out before the heat hits. I just looked at the program guide for HSN; I see Adrienne is on later today. For 1 hour, and that’s it. Nothing tomorrow, and no more today. And the same inventory she brings every month. I guess she’s getting ready to retire; she’s on much less now.
Her products have really gone down the tubes. They’ve never been clean, but there were some effective products in her line. Not anymore. It’s a shame, but just one more negative change on home shopping.
And I read the posts on the previous thread about host pick. Yes, Judy, I’m pretty sure it was the way you said. That’s too much to expect, now. Anyway, just another change on home shopping. Those of us who watched it those 25 years ago know how good it was. Nothing lasts forever, that’s for sure.
June 25, 2024 at 10:44 pm |
I wish both Kristen and Mary Beth luck on their new chapters.
I’ve watched a tiny bit of Suzanne Somers family, and I’m not impressed. First of all, Alan is looking frail. I like him and I hope he takes it easy. This is a difficult time for him.
It seems they keep running out of inventory and take forever to get it back in. This is in the comments on their shows. Also, they keep showing new pajamas and other things with the promise they’ll be available soon, and it isn’t happening.
It seems there’s quite a bit of drinking going on, it may not bother some but it seems excessive to me. I know many like these personal glimpses into their lives, but some are there for the products and those products are taking a back seat. I think they should be more professional and product focused. JMO.
Suzanne is really missed, and she was friendly while being focused and informative about her products.
June 26, 2024 at 3:16 pm |
@Mary C
I’ve watched some of it, too. There seems to be a long list of sold out/discontinued products, and promises of new products that aren’t being made. Especially the pajamas; people are wondering where they are after being promised them for months.
I agree about the drinking. It seems like all the get togethers are fueled by alcohol. Do that in private, please. It makes an already unprofessional setup look even worse. The casual vibe is ok as long as it’s balanced by professionalism.
Finally, aside from a very few long term die hard fans, it seems there’s a new audience that is there mainly to hitch itself to Suzanne’s family’s star, and gather gossip. It’s too bad but I don’t think that business will survive without Suzanne. The presentations are awkward, disorganized, and even invasive, IMO, and the inventory has gone way too low for a very long time now. It’s not pleasant to watch and that’s why many people have stopped watching the shows.
June 26, 2024 at 9:13 pm
Lainie, Mary C,
I have watched parts of a couple of SS family’s shows; sorry but they are difficult to watch. They are too scattered and “casual”. As per Lainie, a casual vibe needs to be balanced with professionalism. And then there’s the inventory problem. I don’t think those pajamas will be for sale for a very long time, if at all.
I watched in full the episode celebrating Al’s birthday in 2022. The comparison between SS then and a year later is shockingly sad. Cancer is horrible. It seems at that point most of her longer term fans were still on board. The lookie loos came later on, when her health was getting worse. She is missed, and I don’t think her family will be able to keep the business going. There are also comments about skin care and makeup formulas being changed for the worst, and strong scents. And popular products being discontinued.
Monsoon has started here; I’m hoping it will be like last year…. not as much rain and humidity as previous years. I’ve been airing the house out at sunrise on cooler mornings. And… tomorrow is shopping day. That week flew! Have a good weekend everyone! 🏜️🌤️🌞⛈️
June 26, 2024 at 9:23 pm
Mary C, Lainie, Jerri
All I’m going to say is that I agree with you. That, and Suzanne made a HUGE mistake giving Caroline so much power in her company. She shouldn’t have involved Caroline at all.
June 29, 2024 at 4:25 pm
Deanna
You summed it up perfectly. Carolyn has very little knowledge of skin care, etc. Suzanne did her research, Caroline did not. And she is crass and pompous.
Tomorrow is Al’s actual birthday. I hope some of the family makes it a special day for him, AWAY FROM THE CAMERAS. Theres more to life than sell, sell, sell. Personally, I’d rather spend the day with Michael (the man about the house) because he seems to be a gentle, sincere person. I really don’t like any of the rest of them, other than Al.
June 29, 2024 at 8:53 pm |
I’m sorry Suzanne S passed away. I’ve never been a fan of her personality, although she has put out some valuable information. I used to use her skincare, and I noticed a big change in the products about 3 or 4 years ago, and I believe this was Caroline’s input. Not only the formulas, but also the availability. Many things have been discontinued. And the prices are ridiculous. I honestly don’t think the pajamas will be added, either. And Deanna….. well, couldn’t have said it better myself. Caroline is a bossy know-it-all who knows nothing.
I feel bad for Suzanne’s family, especially Al, but I think they are ruining the business. And I hope Al is getting the right kind of attention from them. The podcasts are confusing and disorganized sometimes. Of all of the family, I like Al’s side better. His handsome son and grandsons are soft spoken and polite. Daisy and Leslie are more animated, but they have good hearts. I stopped watching the podcasts long before Suzanne passed. I wish the family healing and peace, and hope they find some direction.
June 30, 2024 at 8:25 pm |
I agree about SS; and especially about it being a mistake to appoint Carolyn as company president. But….. not my circus; not my monkeys.
I watched a little of Skinn with Dimitri on HSN earlier. I can’t believe how pricey his products are. It’s probably mostly because of HSN, but people on the forum are quitting his products now. I loved his skin care from the late 2000s when it was clean. I stopped using it because he kept discontinuing products that I liked. And now the products aren’t considered clean. I like Dimitri and he’s very knowledgeable but his stuff is way too $$$$$$$.
Mr and the boys are off doing something; I chose to stay with 😻😻 and avoid the heat. It is a little humid too, monsoon has landed. They promised to bring back a pizza for dinner so I’ll make a salad to go with it. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday, everyone. Stay cool.
June 30, 2024 at 10:39 pm |
@Jerri
I got up early to see my friend off and watched some of Dimitri with Skinn, too. The prices keep going up and up. And he keeps discontinuing stuff and not replacing it. I like him, but his products are over priced and not as good as they used to be. Too many damn oils, too.
My friend worked today so he could have the 4 day weekend off next week. Hard to believe July 4th is almost here. Mary and Missy are going to her son’s, and my sis and her BF are going to the kids’. They are having a dinner here in the rec room; I try to avoid those COVID spreaders!! So my friend and I will BBQ and enjoy a relaxing weekend. He is going to bring some movies so we’ll have some different things to watch.
Happy 4th to everyone; be safe and have fun.
July 1, 2024 at 12:09 am
to Jerri and Lainie
I used Skinn for a long time. I found him on shop nbc after he left HSN long ago, and started over with his products. They were clean and worked well. Eventually his inventory kept being sold out on snbc, and I even ordered from his website. I agree, he discontinues things too frequently. And his prices on HSN are ridiculous. He is losing many customers at this rate. I like him and wish him well, but I think he or HSN needs to lower his prices. And why are his products no longer clean?
July 1, 2024 at 12:22 am
Joyce,
I have a very similar experience to yours with Skinn. I ended up ordering off his website, too. But the constant changing lineup turned me away, back in 2009 or 2010. I use something now that’s clean and reasonably priced. What I have found is that skin care on home shopping is over priced, and most of it doesn’t work well. And, most of it isn’t clean. I have given up on home shopping. They can sell their crap to someone else.
July 1, 2024 at 4:39 pm |
Apparently HSN cut one of Dimitri’s shows really short, and he didn’t appear the rest of the day. HSN shouldn’t have done that. I wonder if he’ll leave HSN now. What he did was not good for his customers, but they can order online. He was supposed to be on from 3-4 PM EDT, but they cut him off at 3:30. He mentioned that to Lynn, then the camera cut away, and she came back with another guest. No more Dimitri and he had shows all day long.
I was looking at the HSN host page, and 5 are still there from 2000 when I started watching: Bobbi, Lynn, Callie, Marlo, and Guy. Colleen still is around but not as an actual host. Runyan, Adam, and Amy have been on there awhile, too. The changes on HSN, and other shopping channels, have not been customer friendly. Anyway, it seems HSN/Qurate doesn’t give a fig about their customers or their vendors.
July 1, 2024 at 4:58 pm |
@Joyce
Thanks for the informative post. I missed several minutes of Lynn’s show and wondered what happened. He must have been really angry to not go on the rest of the day. I don’t blame him; he was given an hour and then they changed it without telling him. How unprofessional, HSN.
I don’t know where he’d go if he left HSN….maybe back to HQ? His customers would be happy if they lowered his prices. And now Serious Skin Care isn’t on HQ, so he would have less competition. Who knows… but I bet the management at HSN got an earful from him yesterday.
July 1, 2024 at 9:40 pm
Lainie, Joyce,
The missing Dimitri is all over the HSN forums. I have a feeling it was his idea to leave, and I don’t blame him, but maybe HSN cut him for the day because he questioned the abrupt ending of that show. I didn’t see that, but I noticed his absence later on. A couple hours ago, his products were still online at HSN so who knows what’s going to happen. I wish him the best and I guess we’ll see what happens.
Thursday is the 4th so we are going grocery shopping tomorrow. The kids are going out of town to the other parents, and we are just staying in and having a quiet weekend. You can see some fireworks from our yard; that’s always nice. Happy 4th everyone.