Lance Bass loses out to HGTV in bid for ‘Brady Bunch’ house

By Michael Rothman

Mystery solved! HGTV is the network that bought the "Brady Bunch" home after Lance Bass thought he had landed the iconic property for himself.

HGTV's parent company Discovery confirmed to ABC News on Tuesday that CEO David Zaslav has just announced the purchase as part of the network's second quarter earnings.

"One example of our new project for HGTV will speak to those 'Brady Bunch' fans on the call," he said on the earnings call.

Richard Creamer/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Eve Plumb (Jan Brady) and Maureen McCormick (Marcia Brady) rehearse on the set of 'The Brady Bunch' at Paramount Studios, July 26, 1972, in Los Angeles.

Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

A scene from the show "The Brady Bunch."

ABC Photo Archives via Getty Images

A scene from the show "The Brady Bunch," Aug. 27, 1969.

"You may have heard that the house from the iconic series was recently on the market in California," he said. "I’m excited to share that HGTV is the winning bidder and we’ll restore the home to its 1970s glory as only HGTV can," Zaslav continued, squashing any reports that the house might get torn down."

"More detail to come over the next few months but we’ll bring all the resources to bear to tell safe, fun stories with this beloved piece of American TV history."

The news follows reports that Bass believed he had made the winning bid, only to learn later that a then-unnamed network had outbid him -- an eventuality that left the former NSYNC boy band breakout feeling used and abused.

Marcia Marcia Marcia! Im feeling heartbroken today. As many of you may have heard, we placed the winning bid on the iconic Brady Bunch house—at least that’s what we were told. The agent representing the estate informed us we made the winning bid (which was WAY over the asking price) after the final deadline for all offers had passed—even writing up the “winning bid” for my team after informing me of the good news. Isn’t a deadline a deadline? This was a dream come true for me and I spent the night celebrating amongst friends, family, and fans alike. The next day, due to “unforeseen circumstances” the same agent informed us that there’s another Corporate Buyer (Hollywood studio) who wants the house at any cost. We were prepared to go even higher but totally discouraged by the sellers agent, they will outperform any bid with unlimited resources. How is this fair or legal?? How can I compete with a billion dollar corporate entity? I truly believe I was used to drive up the price of the home knowing very well that this corporation intended on making their offer and it’s not a good feeling. I feel used but most importantly I’m hurt and saddened by this highly questionable outcome. I just hope it is not demolished. Thanks for all the love and support. #CrushedDream #ShadyAF #DouglasElliman #ShadyBrady To make me happier you can register and vote November 6th!

A post shared by Lance Bass (@lancebass) on Aug 4, 2018 at 10:05pm PDT

“I'm feeling heartbroken ... This was a dream come true for me and I spent the night celebrating amongst friends, family, and fans alike” when he thought he had won the bid, he said on Sunday. "I just hope it is not demolished."

But when Bass found out it was HGTV that made the deal, his tone quickly changed.

"HGTV??! Aw man. I’d be pretty upset if it were anyone else, but how can you be mad at HGTV?? My television is stuck on that channel. Kudos HGTV, I know you will do the right thing with the house. That was always my biggest worry. I can smile again," he tweeted Tuesday.

Anyone else smell a hosting gig in Bass' future?

HGTV??! Aw man. I’d be pretty upset if it were anyone else, but how can you be mad at HGTV?? My television is stuck on that channel. Kudos HGTV, I know you will do the right thing with the house. That was always my biggest worry. I can smile again. ??

— Lance Bass (@LanceBass) August 7, 2018