Beech Tree News Network

The genesis or evolution of a television network can be pretty interesting, at least to me.  Spike changing to the Paramount Network comes to mind., ABC Family transforming into the Family Channel is also at the forefront.  However, the one with the most changes is the one that started as The Nashville Network.

The Nashville Network was launched on March 7, 1983 operating from the now-defunct Opryland Theme Park.  Gaylord Entertainment owned them from 1983-1997.  Most of the programming during that time was produced by Opryland Productions.  Some of TNN’s popular on-air talent were Lorianne Crook and Charlie Chase, Bill Anderson, Florence Henderson and Dinah Shore. 

Westinghouse/CBS ownership was 1997-2000.  TNN’s partnership with CBS allowed them to show repeats of Dukes of Hazzard and Dallas.  They also aired NASCAR Busch Series and PGA events during that period.  They ventured away from music videos and, in that time, began a partnership with ECW.  That ushered in their airing of professional wrestling.  ECW on TNN was the network’s highest rated show through 2000, despite limited advertising. 

Some of TNN’s programming at that time was WKRP(somebody needs to start airing those repeats again), The Wonder Years and Taxi.  I was all about that network during that time period.  Viacom attained ownership in 2000 and they own the network, that has gone from Spike TV to, just recently, Paramount Network.

Another network that has gone through considerable change is the former ABC Family Channel.  I’d forgotten this: the network was initially Pat Robertson’s Christian Broadcasting Network(CBN) from 1977-1998.  On August 1, 1988, the word “family” was incorporated, making it the CBN Family Channel.  In 1990, it was shortened to the Family Channel, managed by Robertson’s eldest son Timothy.  1998-2001 saw the change in name to FOX Family until Disney bought the company in 2001, rebranding the channel ABC Family.  This went until 2006, when “A New Kind of Family”-really, that’s what they called it-debuted.  Kyle XY, Greek and Secret Life of the American Teenager were just some of the shows.  2016 saw another name change, the one it has today, FreeForm.  “A Little Forward” is their slogan.  They house shows such as The Bold Type and Blackish spinoff Grownish. 

There are several networks that still have their original name but are quite different than when they debuted.  Remember when CMT touted themselves as Country Music Television and showed nothing but country music videos? On March 5, 1983, CMTV debuted, debuting two days before it’s competitor TNN.  The first video clip to air was Faron Young’s 1971 hit “It’s Four In The Morning”.  The following summer, MTV filed a trademark infringement lawsuit over the name.  They dropped the “V” and became CMT.

In 1991, Gaylord Entertainment acquired CMT in a $34 million deal.  The CBS/Viacom years of CMT began in 1997 and are ongoing.  CMT’s current programming consists of movies and reality shows, the majority of which have nothing to do with country music(hence why they’ve gone to calling themselves CMT instead of Country Music Television).   On April 4, 2012, CMT announced its first cartoon series called Bounty Hunters.  The show featured the voices Jeff Foxworthy, Larry the Cable Guy and Bill Engvall-guys I dub the Redneck Kings of Comedy.  Their shows haven’t held a lot of interest from me until they announced on June 16, 2016 that they would pick up the recently cancelled ABC hit Nashville.  Now, two years later, CMT is cancelling the show.  Honestly, I’m surprised it lasted after the departure of star Connie Britton.  The show is CMT’s last scripted show.  Looks like they’re all-in on reality TV(boo), as they have a reality show called Nashville-which is basically a dating show probably.  No thanks. 

Where will the network genesis take us next? Is there a network on the fringe of purchase that we don’t know about? I’m interested to see what the Paramount Network will be about.  Is it just a change in name or will there be a change in programming? Only time will tell.