History
The channel launched December 31, 1995 with Garth Brooks' video "The Thunder Rolls" as the first video.
Scripps Networks acquired GAC from Centennial, Colorado-based Jones Radio Network on October 12, 2004. Scripps Networks, based in Knoxville, Tennessee, also owns popular lifestyle-oriented channels HGTV, Food Network, DIY Network, Cooking Channel and Travel Channel. The company was spun off from The E. W. Scripps Company in July 2008.
In addition to country music videos, Great American Country features original programming, special musical performances and live concerts.
Great American Country has been one of the fastest-growing cable networks for the past three years, and is available in more than 58 million U.S. households via cable and satellite. In late 2005, Broadcasting & Cable, an industry trade publication, named GAC as one of TV's "Breakout Networks" heading into 2006, saying of the channel: "The emerging GAC is a younger, hipper version that respects Nashville's country roads but widens the boulevards."
The channel's popularity is helped by competing network CMT's declining reliance on regular music video blocks except in the mornings and moving towards programming (both original and acquired) which may or may not have any connection to southern culture, much less country music. Great American Country continues to air music videos in the afternoon and evening hours, and keeps its other programming limited to shows that pertain to country music. In a sense, CMT Pure Country, and to a lesser extent, Gospel Music Channel and RFD-TV, could be considered the pure rivals to GAC in regards to their programming format.
AT&T U-verse dropped Food Network, Cooking Channel, HGTV, DIY Network and Great American Country on November 5, 2010 due to a carriage dispute. Two days later, however, the carriage dispute was resolved.
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