On November 1, 2012, the network was revived as a digital broadcast television network. However, this lasted only 11 months, and the channel changed its name to Heartland on October 9, 2013.
TNN was originally owned by WSM, Inc., a subsidiary of National Life and Accident Insurance Company that owned several broadcasting and tourism properties in Nashville and the traditional country radio and stage show The Grand Ole Opry, and initially focused on country music-related original programming. TNN's flagship shows included Nashville Now and Grand Ole Opry Live, both of which were broadcast live from Opryland USA.[1][2] During TNN's first year of broadcasting, American General Corporation, parent company of NL&AIC, put the network up for sale, along with the other NL&AI properties, in an effort to focus on its core businesses.
Gaylord ownership (1983–1997)
The Gaylord Entertainment Company purchased TNN and the Opryland properties in the latter half of 1983. Much of TNN's programming during the Gaylord era was originally produced by Opryland Productions, also owned by Gaylord Entertainment.[3] Programming included variety shows, talk shows, game shows (such as Fandango and Top Card), outdoors shows, and lifestyle shows, all centered in some way around country music or Southern U.S. culture.[4] Some of TNN's popular on-air talent included Miss America 1983 Debra Maffett (TNN Country News), and local Nashville media personalities Ralph Emery,[5] Dan Miller, Charlie Chase, Lorianne Crook and Gary Beaty, as well as established stars such as country music singer Bill Anderson and actresses Florence Henderson and Dinah Shore. TNN even created stars, such as wily professional fisherman Bill Dance.[6]Grand Ole Opry singer and 1960s country star Bobby Lord, known for his skills as a sportsman and living in his native Florida, hosted the program Country Sportsman, featuring hunting and fishing excursions with various country stars. Inspired by ABC's The American Sportsman, the TNN show was later renamed Celebrity Sportsman after ABC objected to the similarity to its program. One of the most popular shows that aired on the network during this time was a variety show hosted by the country music quartet The Statler Brothers.
In 1991, Gaylord Entertainment purchased TNN's chief competitor, CMT, and operated it in tandem with TNN. CMT continued to show country music videos exclusively throughout Gaylord's ownership. Following the acquisition, TNN quickly phased out its music video blocks, while directing viewers to CMT for such fare.
In 1993, Emery began a short-lived retirement from broadcasting, and left Nashville Now in the process. Upon Emery's exit, the show was merged with fellow TNN program Crook & Chase and renamed Music City Tonight (hosted by Lorianne Crook and Charlie Chase).[7] The same year, TNN Country News debuted and was hosted by Debra Maffett. The programming block TNN Outdoors debuted in 1993, and featured hunting and fishing shows, as well as PRCArodeo and PBRbull riding. In 1996, Crook and Chase left the show to relaunch their eponymous program in daytime syndication; it would return exclusively to TNN in 1997.[8] Meanwhile, Music City Tonight was again overhauled to more closely resemble its original Nashville Now format, but was rebranded as Prime Time Country. This version was originally hosted by actor Tom Wopat (of The Dukes of Hazzard fame). He was later replaced with singer/songwriter Gary Chapman, who enjoyed relative success with the show until its cancellation in 1999 as part of the network's change of focus.
The outdoors and motorsports programs were so successful that, by the early 1990s, only those shows were seen on Sundays, with no musical programming.
Westinghouse-CBS/Viacom ownership (1997–2000)
Westinghouse Electric, who at the time owned the CBS network and had an existing relationship with TNN through its Group W division, purchased TNN and its sister network CMT outright in 1997 to form the CBS Cable division, along with a short-lived startup network entitled Eye On People.
Most of the original entertainment-oriented programming ceased production during this period, and the network began to rely more on TNN Outdoors and TNN Motor Sports for programming. The network's ties to CBS allowed it to pick up Southern-themed CBS dramas from the 1980s such as The Dukes of Hazzard and Dallas, and also allowed it to carry CBS Sports' overruns, which happened during a NASCAR Busch Series race at Texas Motor Speedway and also a PGA Tour event at Firestone Country Club.[1] It also broadcast the 1998 Pepsi 400 on October 17, 1998, after CBS was unable to air it on the rescheduled date (from July 4, due to the 1998 Florida wildfires).
The late 1990s also saw the network's first attempts to distance itself from its country music/rural lifestyle image and court a younger demographic, one more attractive to potential advertisers.[10] In 1998, the network dropped its "The Nashville Network" moniker and shortened its official name to TNN, and ownership shifted to Viacom in 2000 after that company's acquisition of Westinghouse's successor, CBS Corporation.[11] TNN subsequently moved from its original Nashville headquarters to New York City and was folded into Viacom's MTV Networks division; sister network CMT, however, remained situated in Nashville and began to venture away from 24/7 music videos in favor of lifestyle programming.
1998 witnessed the premiere of RollerJam, which brought roller derby back to television for the first time in almost a decade. The next year, TNN began its relationship with professional wrestling, signing a three-year deal with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). ECW on TNN was the highest-rated show on TNN through 2000, despite limited advertising (which was a point of contention with ECW officials).[12]ECW on TNN and RollerJam formed the core of the network's "Friday Night Thrill Zone" program block, which was responsible for an increase in the network's young male viewership on Friday nights.
In 2000, Viacom sensed redundancy among its TNN and CMT properties and, catalyzed by its acquisition of the rights to World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) programming, decided to refocus TNN.[10] The network was renamed The National Network on September 25 (later The New TNN) and reformatted to compete with TNT, TBS, and USA Network by attracting viewers in the 18 to 49-year-old demographic.[13] Prior to 2000, over half of TNN's viewers were 55 years old and over. Only one-third of them were between the ages of 18 and 49, according to Nielsen Media Research.[13]
On April 16, 2012, it was announced that Luken Communications and Jim Owens Entertainment would relaunch The Nashville Network as a digital broadcasttelevision network on November 1, 2012.[18][19][20] Jim Owens Entertainment, producer of the Crook & Chase television program and the Crook & Chase Top 40 Countdown radio show (among other programs), acquired The Nashville Network trademark, logo, and some archived programming.[19]
In October 2013, the partnership between Jim Owens Entertainment and Luken Communications ended, and The Nashville Network name was changed to Heartland. The rebranded network continued to carry the same format and programming.[21] As part of the split, Jim Owens Entertainment retained TNN's branding.
On April 24, 2019, corporate TV station owner Gray Television announced a joint-venture country music broadcasting service with Opry Entertainment Group (the legal successor to TNN's founding company, WSM, Inc.), which became Circle. The services would consist of a broadcast digital network and an OTT streaming platform. The joint venture would be based in Nashville under General Manager Drew Riefenberger. Gray would contribute distribution and marketing capabilities, multicast knowledge and affiliate all its TV stations' subchannels with the new service. This represents the third attempt to revive the pre-2000 concept of TNN, but without the branding due to the TNN trademark now owned by Jim Owens Entertainment.[22] Owens died on March 4, 2022.[23]
RFD-TV (Rural Free Delivery TV), a network launched in 2000 with similar programming to TNN
Related Research Articles
The Grand Ole Opry is a regular live country-music radio broadcast originating from Nashville, Tennessee, on WSM, held between two and five nights per week, depending on the time of year. It was founded on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay as the WSM Barn Dance, taking its current name in 1927. Currently owned and operated by Opry Entertainment, it is the longest-running radio broadcast in U.S. history. Dedicated to honoring country music and its history, the Opry showcases a mix of famous singers and contemporary chart-toppers performing country, bluegrass, Americana, folk, and gospel music as well as comedic performances and skits. It attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world and millions of radio and internet listeners.
Paramount Network is an American basic cable television channel owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Media Networks, a division of Paramount Global. The network's headquarters are located at the Paramount Pictures studio lot in Los Angeles.
Paramount Media Networks is an American mass media division of Paramount Global that oversees the operations of its television channels and online brands. The division was originally founded as MTV Networks in 1984, named after the MTV cable network. It would be known under this name until 2011; when it would be thereafter known as Viacom Media Networks until 2019; and ViacomCBS Domestic Media Networks until 2022.
WSM is a commercial AM radio station, located in Nashville, Tennessee. It broadcasts a country music format and is known as the home of the Grand Ole Opry, the world's longest running radio program. The station is owned Ryman Hospitality Properties, Inc. After nearly 40 years broadcasting from a studio within the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center, WSM moved to a showcase studio inside the former home of Roy Acuff, just outside the Grand Ole Opry House, in July 2024.
CMT is an American pay TV network that launched on March 5, 1983. It is currently owned by Paramount Global through its MTV Entertainment Group division.
Opryland USA was a theme park in Nashville, Tennessee. It operated seasonally from 1972 to 1997, and for a special Christmas-themed engagement every December from 1993 to 1997. During the late 1980s, nearly 2.5 million people visited the park annually. Billed as the "Home of American Music", Opryland USA featured a large number of musical shows along with typical amusement park rides, such as roller coasters. The park was closed and demolished following the 1997 season. On its site was built Opry Mills, an outlet-heavy shopping mall, which opened in 2000.
Edward Lewis Gaylord was an American billionaire businessman, media mogul and philanthropist. He was the founder of the Gaylord Entertainment Company that included The Oklahoman newspaper, Oklahoma Publishing Co., Gaylord Hotels, the Nashville Network TV Channel ; the Grand Ole Opry, and the Country Music Television Channel (CMT) as well as the defunct Opryland USA theme park and a bankrupt airline, Western Pacific Airlines.
Lorianne Crook is an American radio and television host, producer, and writer, best known for her work on The Nashville Network programs This Week In Country Music and Crook & Chase with Charlie Chase.
Ryman Hospitality Properties, Inc. is a hotel, resort, entertainment, and media company named for one of its assets: the Ryman Auditorium, a National Historic Landmark in Nashville, Tennessee. The company's legal lineage can be traced back to its time as a subsidiary of Edward Gaylord's Oklahoma Publishing Company; however, the backbone of the modern entity was formed with the company's acquisition of WSM, Inc. in 1983. This purchase resulted in the ownership of the Grand Ole Opry and associated businesses, including the company's flagship resort property, then known as Opryland Hotel. As such, Ryman Hospitality cites 1925 as its origin year.
Charlie Chase is an American radio and television host best known for his work on The Nashville Network program Crook & Chase.
The National Life and Accident Insurance Company was an American life insurance company based in Nashville, Tennessee that operated from 1900 until it was acquired in a hostile takeover in 1982 by American General Corporation.
ECW on TNN, also known as ECW Wrestling, is an American professional wrestling television program that was produced by Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) and aired on The Nashville Network. Created by Paul Heyman, the owner of HHG Corporation, it presented original ECW matches on Friday nights and was the only national television program in ECW's history. It debuted on August 27, 1999 - five years to the date that Shane Douglas threw down the NWA World Heavyweight Championship and rechristened ECW as Extreme Championship Wrestling. The final episode aired on October 6, 2000. All episodes are available on WWE Network and Peacock.
Crook & Chase is an American television talk show hosted by Lorianne Crook and Charlie Chase, focusing primarily, but not exclusively, on country music.
The CMT Music Awards is a fan-voted awards show for country music videos and television performances. The ceremony launched in 1967 as Music City News Awards; it is the oldest award show currently airing under Paramount Global.
Z Music Television was a Christian-oriented cable television channel with a music video format similar to that of Viacom's MTV, and, in its earliest days, direct marketing appeals similar to The Home Shopping Network. Their programming, largely music videos with some documentaries, interstitial "Z Buzz" news updates, and media related shows, was characterized as being aimed at "12-to 54-year olds." Unlike style oriented channels such as Country Music Television, they were not limited to a particular musical genre; they played the full spectrum of Contemporary Christian music from reggae to country music. Z Music Television closed in 2000.
TNN Motor Sports was a sports programming block on The Nashville Network from the network's launch in 1983 to 2000. TNN Motor Sports specialized in coverage of motorsports of various formats, most commonly auto racing. From 2000 to 2003, the network expanded its offerings to include alternative professional football and rebranded the block as TNN Sports. The block shut down in TNN's 2003 rebranding as Spike TV.
Heartland is an American country music-oriented digital broadcast television network owned by Get After It Media and broadcast out of Chattanooga, Tennessee. Launched on April 16, 2012, the network began as a revival of The Nashville Network (TNN); the original incarnation (now known as Paramount Network) existed as a basic cable and satellite television network from March 7, 1983, to September 24, 2000.
Circle Country, previously known as Circle, is a free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) service owned by Gray Television as part of its PowerNation Studios division. The network's programming consists of country music oriented shows, western films and rural/blue collar themed material, featuring a mix of original and off-network shows sourced from Opry Entertainment Group.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
