The Nashville Network
Encyclopedia
The Nashville Network, usually referred to as TNN, was an American
country music
-oriented cable television
network. Programming included music video
s, taped concert
s, movie
s, syndicated programs, and numerous talk show
s. On September 25, 2000, after an attempt to attract younger viewers failed, TNN's country music format was changed and the network was renamed The National Network, eventually becoming Spike in 2003.
theme park near Nashville, Tennessee
. Country Music Television
(CMT), founded by Glenn D. Daniels, beat TNN's launch by two days, robbing TNN of the claim of "first country music cable television network".
TNN was originally owned by WSM, Inc., a subsidiary of National Life and Accident Insurance Company
, 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. During TNN's first year of broadcasting, American General Corporation, parent company of NL&AIC, decided to divest itself of some of its non-core companies and put the fledgling network up for sale.
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. Programming included variety shows, talk show
s, game show
s (such as Fandango
and Top Card
), outdoors shows, and lifestyle shows, all centered in some way around country music. Some of TNN's popular on-air talent included local Nashville media personalities Ralph Emery
, Dan Miller
, Charlie Chase, and Lorianne Crook
, 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 fisherman Bill Dance
. Grand Ole Opry
singer Bobby Lord
, known for his skills as a sportsman, 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 their 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.
TNN had two self-operating and self-promoting sub-divisions, TNN Outdoors and TNN Motor Sports. TNN Outdoors was responsible for the programming of hunting and fishing shows, while TNN Motor Sports was responsible for production of all of the network's auto racing
and motorsports coverage. Regarding the latter, NASCAR
races (including those of the then-Winston Cup Series, Busch Grand National Series, and Craftsman Truck Series
) were the most prominently featured. However, races of other series such as the International Motor Sports Association
sports car series, ASA
stock car series, World of Outlaws
sprint car series, and the NHRA Winston Drag Racing
series were also showcased, as were motorcycle and monster truck racing. TNN Outdoors and TNN Motor Sports also marketed themselves, selling a variety of merchandise and branding themselves onto video games such as TNN Bass Tournament of Champions
and TNN Outdoors Bass Tournament '96.
In 1995, the network's motorsports operations were moved into the industrial park located at Charlotte Motor Speedway
in Concord, North Carolina
, where TNN had purchased controlling interest in World Sports Enterprises, a motorsports production company. Notable TNN racing personalities included Mike Joy
, Steve Evans, Eli Gold
, Buddy Baker
, Neil Bonnett
, Randy Pemberton, Ralph Sheheen
, Dick Berggren
, Matt Yocum
, Brock Yates
, Paul Page
, Don Garlits
, Gary Gerould, Army Armstrong, and Rick Benjamin
.
The outdoors and motorsports programs were so successful that, by the early 1990s, only those shows were seen on Sundays, with no musical programming.
networks and had an existing relationship with TNN through its Group W
division, purchased TNN and its sister network CMT
outright in 1995 to form CBS Cable, along with a short-lived start up 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 country-themed CBS dramas from the 1980s such as The Dukes of Hazzard
and Dallas
, and also allowed it to carry CBS Sports' run overs, which happened during a NASCAR Busch Series race at Texas Motor Speedway
and also a PGA Tour
event at Firestone Country Club
.
During this time, Ralph Emery
began a short-lived retirement from broadcasting, and left Nashville Now in the process. Upon Emery's exit, the show was overhauled and renamed Music City Tonight (hosted by Lorianne Crook
and Charlie Chase). After a very short run, Crook and Chase left the show to launch a syndicated daytime show, Crook & Chase
, which would eventually return to TNN after two years in the syndication market. Music City Tonight was again overhauled to resemble its original Nashville Now format, but was re-branded as Prime Time Country. This version was originally hosted by actor Tom Wopat
. He was later replaced with Christian singer/songwriter Gary Chapman
, who enjoyed relative success with the show until its cancellation in 1999 as part of the MTV
overhaul of the network.
The late 1990s also saw the network's first attempts to distance itself from its country music/country lifestyle image and court a younger demographic. In 1998, the network dropped its "The Nashville Network" moniker and shortened its official name to TNN, and ownership shifted to Viacom
in the late 1990s after their acquisition of CBS Corporation, Westinghouse's successor. TNN subsequently moved from its original Nashville base to New York City
and folded into Viacom's MTV Networks
division; sister network CMT, however, remained in Nashville. 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. 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 World Wrestling Entertainment
or WWE) programming, decided to refocus TNN. The network was renamed The National Network and reformatted to compete with TNT, TBS
, and the USA Network
and attract viewers in the 18- to 49-year-old demographic. Prior to 2000, over half of TNN's viewers were 55 years old and over. Only one third of them were 18 to 49, according to Nielsen Media Research.
Some of TNN's programming included off-network sitcoms such as Diff'rent Strokes
, The Wonder Years
, and Taxi
and the failed relaunch of Ren and Stimpy, Ren and Stimpy Adult Party Cartoon
. Eventually, male-oriented shows, such as Baywatch
, Monster Jam
, Bull Riding
, Robot Wars
and Star Trek: The Next Generation
were added to the network's lineup and the demographic was changed to target "young adult
males". This change in the target demographic led TNN to be renamed Spike TV in 2003, and then to simply Spike in 2006.
Today, Spike is available in 96.1 million American homes, and the average age of its viewers is 42. The network features re-runs of popular shows such as CSI
, CSI: NY
, Unsolved Mysteries
, Married With Children, UFC, and various original programs and movies. It is also the home of the professional wrestling organization Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
's flagship show Impact!
, MadTV
, and Miami Vice
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
-oriented cable television
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
network. Programming included music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
s, taped concert
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
s, movie
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
s, syndicated programs, and numerous talk show
Talk show
A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....
s. On September 25, 2000, after an attempt to attract younger viewers failed, TNN's country music format was changed and the network was renamed The National Network, eventually becoming Spike in 2003.
Beginnings
The Nashville Network (TNN) was launched on March 7, 1983 from the now-defunct Opryland USAOpryland USA
Opryland USA was an amusement park located in suburban Nashville, Tennessee. It operated seasonally from 1972 until 1997...
theme park near Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
. Country Music Television
Country Music Television
Country Music Television, or CMT, is an American country music-oriented cable television network. Programming includes music videos, taped concerts, movies, biographies of country music stars, game shows, and reality programs...
(CMT), founded by Glenn D. Daniels, beat TNN's launch by two days, robbing TNN of the claim of "first country music cable television network".
TNN was originally owned by WSM, Inc., a subsidiary of National Life and Accident Insurance Company
National Life and Accident Insurance Company
The National Life and Accident Insurance Company is a former life insurance company which was based in Nashville, Tennessee.National Life and Accident began in 1900 as the National Sick and Accident Association, a mutual company...
, and initially focused on country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
-related original programming. TNN's flagship shows included Nashville Now
Nashville Now
Nashville Now is a television talk show that focused on country music performers. It aired live weeknights on The Nashville Network from 1983-1993. The host was Nashville TV/radio personality Ralph Emery. The show won several Emmy awards during its run. A frequent guest and substitute host was...
and Grand Ole Opry
Grand Ole Opry
The Grand Ole Opry is a weekly country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, that has presented the biggest stars of that genre since 1925. It is also among the longest-running broadcasts in history since its beginnings as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM-AM...
Live, both of which were broadcast live from Opryland USA. During TNN's first year of broadcasting, American General Corporation, parent company of NL&AIC, decided to divest itself of some of its non-core companies and put the fledgling network up for sale.
Gaylord: 1983–1998
The Gaylord Entertainment CompanyGaylord Entertainment Company
The Gaylord Entertainment Company operates a number of hotel, resort, and media companies that were built by Edward Gaylord. It was previously a subsidiary of the Oklahoma City-based Oklahoma Publishing Company, which is owned by the Gaylord family and publishes the Daily Oklahoman newspaper...
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. Programming included variety shows, talk show
Talk show
A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....
s, game show
Game show
A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...
s (such as Fandango
Fandango (game show)
Fandango was a country music-themed quiz show which aired on TNN from March 8, 1983 to March 31, 1989, when it was replaced by Top Card. Fandango was the first TV game show to air on TNN and was one of the longest-running game shows on a cable network....
and Top Card
Top Card
Top Card was a game show that aired on TNN and produced by Reid-Land Productions, replacing TNN's original game show Fandango. The show aired from April 3, 1989 to March 26, 1993 and was based on the card game Blackjack....
), outdoors shows, and lifestyle shows, all centered in some way around country music. Some of TNN's popular on-air talent included local Nashville media personalities Ralph Emery
Ralph Emery
Walter Ralph Emery is a country music disc jockey and television host from Nashville, Tennessee. He gained national fame hosting the syndicated television music series, Pop! Goes the Country, from 1974 to 1980 and the nightly Nashville Network television program, Nashville Now, from 1983 to 1993...
, Dan Miller
Dan Miller (television journalist/personality)
Zachariah Daniel Miller III , commonly known as Dan Miller, was an American television personality who grew up in Augusta, Georgia....
, Charlie Chase, and Lorianne Crook
Lorianne Crook
Lorianne Crook is an American radio and television host, producer and writer. She is best known for her work on The Nashville Network programs This Week In Country Music and Crook & Chase with Charlie Chase.-Early life:...
, as well as established stars such as country music singer Bill Anderson and actresses Florence Henderson
Florence Henderson
Florence Agnes Henderson is an American actress and singer. She is perhaps best known for her role of Carol Brady on the ABC sitcom The Brady Bunch from 1969 to 1974...
and Dinah Shore
Dinah Shore
Dinah Shore was an American singer, actress, and television personality...
. TNN even created stars, such as wily fisherman Bill Dance
Bill Dance Outdoors
Bill Dance Outdoors is a fishing television series hosted by retired professional tournament angler Bill Dance. Each episode focuses on various aspects of recreational fishing techniques, usually targeting black bass species such as Largemouth and Smallmouth bass, though does occasionally focus on...
. Grand Ole Opry
Grand Ole Opry
The Grand Ole Opry is a weekly country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, that has presented the biggest stars of that genre since 1925. It is also among the longest-running broadcasts in history since its beginnings as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM-AM...
singer Bobby Lord
Bobby Lord
Robert L. Lord , better known as Bobby Lord, was an American country music artist popular in the 1950s and 60s.-Biography:...
, known for his skills as a sportsman, hosted the program "Country Sportsman," featuring hunting and fishing excursions with various country stars. Inspired by ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's "The American Sportsman," the TNN show was later renamed "Celebrity Sportsman" after ABC objected to the similarity to their 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.
TNN had two self-operating and self-promoting sub-divisions, TNN Outdoors and TNN Motor Sports. TNN Outdoors was responsible for the programming of hunting and fishing shows, while TNN Motor Sports was responsible for production of all of the network's auto racing
Auto racing
Auto racing is a motorsport involving the racing of cars for competition. It is one of the world's most watched televised sports.-The beginning of racing:...
and motorsports coverage. Regarding the latter, NASCAR
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
races (including those of the then-Winston Cup Series, Busch Grand National Series, and Craftsman Truck Series
Craftsman Truck Series
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing...
) were the most prominently featured. However, races of other series such as the International Motor Sports Association
International Motor Sports Association
The International Motor Sports Association is an American sports car auto racing sanctioning body based in Braselton, Georgia. It was started by John Bishop, a former employee of SCCA , and his wife Peggy in 1969 with help from Bill France, Sr...
sports car series, ASA
American Speed Association
The American Speed Association is a sanctioning body of motorsports in the United States formed in 1968. The Association was based in Pendleton, Indiana and currently is headquarters in Daytona Beach, Florida. ASA was most famous for a national touring series which began in 1973 but was...
stock car series, World of Outlaws
World of Outlaws
The World of Outlaws is an American motorsports sanctioning body. The body sanctions two major national touring series. It is best known for sanctioning a national tour of sprint cars. It later purchased a national tour of late model stockcars called the World of Outlaws Late Model Series...
sprint car series, and the NHRA Winston Drag Racing
NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series
The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series is the top competition division of the NHRA. It consist of four classes, Top Fuel Dragster, Funny Car, Pro Stock, and Pro Stock Motorcycle.-History:...
series were also showcased, as were motorcycle and monster truck racing. TNN Outdoors and TNN Motor Sports also marketed themselves, selling a variety of merchandise and branding themselves onto video games such as TNN Bass Tournament of Champions
TNN Bass Tournament of Champions
TNN Bass Tournament of Champions is a Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Mega Drive/Genesis fishing game based on the defunct Nashville Network . It is known in Japan as...
and TNN Outdoors Bass Tournament '96.
In 1995, the network's motorsports operations were moved into the industrial park located at Charlotte Motor Speedway
Charlotte Motor Speedway
Charlotte Motor Speedway is a motorsports complex located in Concord, North Carolina, United States 13 miles from Charlotte, North Carolina. The complex features a quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing including the prestigious Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend and the Sprint All-Star Race...
in Concord, North Carolina
Concord, North Carolina
Concord is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. According to Census 2010, the city has a current population of 79,066. It is the largest city in Cabarrus County and is the county seat. In terms of population, the city of Concord is the second largest city in the Charlotte Metropolitan Area...
, where TNN had purchased controlling interest in World Sports Enterprises, a motorsports production company. Notable TNN racing personalities included Mike Joy
Mike Joy
Mike Joy is an American TV sports announcer, who currently serves as the lap-by-lap voice of FOX Sports' NASCAR Sprint Cup coverage. His color analysts are Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds. Joy has broadcast more than 30 Daytona 500s, NASCAR's biggest event...
, Steve Evans, Eli Gold
Eli Gold
Eli Gold is an American sportscaster. Gold is best known as the radio voice for the Alabama Crimson Tide football team, along with Tom Roberts, as part of the Crimson Tide Sports Network since 1988. He has also been the host of NASCAR Live on the Motor Racing Network since 1982...
, Buddy Baker
Buddy Baker
Elzie Wylie Baker, Jr. , nicknamed "Leadfoot" or more famously Buddy, is a former American NASCAR racecar driver.-Early life:...
, Neil Bonnett
Neil Bonnett
Lawrence Neil Bonnett was a NASCAR driver who compiled 18 victories and 20 poles over his 18-year career. The Alabama native currently ranks 35th in all-time NASCAR Cup victories. He appeared in the 1983 film Stroker Ace and the 1990 film Days of Thunder...
, Randy Pemberton, Ralph Sheheen
Ralph Sheheen
Ralph Sheheen is currently a pit reporter for NASCAR on TNT, an announcer for AMA supercross and superbike racing on the Speed Channel, and is the lead commentator of CBS Sports' coverage of the AMA....
, Dick Berggren
Dick Berggren
Dr. Dick Berggren is a motorsports announcer and magazine editor from Manchester, Connecticut in the United States. Born in Westerly, Rhode Island, he now lives in Ipswich, Massachusetts with his wife Kathy. He is commonly seen wearing a trademark flat cap.- Academia :Berggren described himself...
, Matt Yocum
Matt Yocum
Matt Yocum is a long standing reporter in motorsports. He is best known for his pit reporting in the sport of NASCAR.-Biography:Matt Yocum's exposure to automobile racing began at an early age...
, Brock Yates
Brock Yates
Brock Yates is an American journalist and author. He was longtime executive editor of Car and Driver, an American automotive magazine. He was a pit reporter for CBS' coverage of certain NASCAR Sprint Cup series races in the 1980s, including the Daytona 500...
, Paul Page
Paul Page
Paul Page is an American motorsports broadcaster who was the lead announcer for ABC Sports' coverage of CART and the IRL from 1988 to 2004. He currently is the lead announcer for NHRA.-Early life and career:...
, Don Garlits
Don Garlits
Donald Glenn "Don" Garlits is considered the father of drag racing. He is known as "Big Daddy" to drag racing fans around the world. Always a pioneer in the field of drag-racing, he, with the help of T.C...
, Gary Gerould, Army Armstrong, and Rick Benjamin
Rick Benjamin
Rick Benjamin is Speed Channel's voice of the USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series, and has been the voice of Champ Car racing for HDNet from 2004 until then end of the final season of Champ Car in 2007...
.
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: 1998–2000
Westinghouse Electric Corporation, who at the time owned the CBSCBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
networks and had an existing relationship with TNN through its Group W
Westinghouse Broadcasting
The Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, also known as Group W, was the broadcasting division of Westinghouse Electric Corporation. It owned several radio and television stations across the United States and distributed television shows for syndication....
division, purchased TNN and its sister network CMT
CMT
- Medicine :* California mastitis test* Certified Massage Therapist* Cervical motion tenderness, a sign of pelvic inflammatory disease* Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease* Chemically modified tetracyclines* Circus Movement Tachycardia...
outright in 1995 to form CBS Cable, along with a short-lived start up 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 country-themed CBS dramas from the 1980s such as The Dukes of Hazzard
The Dukes of Hazzard
The Dukes of Hazzard is an American television series that aired on the CBS television network from 1979 to 1985.The series was inspired by the 1975 film Moonrunners, which was also created by Gy Waldron and had many identical or similar character names and concepts.- Overview :The Dukes of Hazzard...
and Dallas
Dallas (TV series)
Dallas is an American serial drama/prime time soap opera that revolves around the Ewings, a wealthy Texas family in the oil and cattle-ranching industries. Throughout the series, Larry Hagman stars as greedy, scheming oil baron J. R. Ewing...
, and also allowed it to carry CBS Sports' run overs, which happened during a NASCAR Busch Series race at Texas Motor Speedway
Texas Motor Speedway
Texas Motor Speedway is a speedway located in the northernmost portion of the U.S. city of Fort Worth, Texas – the portion located in Denton County, Texas....
and also a PGA Tour
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour is the organizer of the main men's professional golf tours in the United States and North America...
event at Firestone Country Club
Firestone Country Club
The Firestone Country Club is a private golf club located in Akron, Ohio, United States.The Club comprises three courses—those of the North, South, and West—each of which hosted a televised golf event, respectively the American Golf Classic, the CBS Golf Classic and the World Series of Golf, in...
.
During this time, Ralph Emery
Ralph Emery
Walter Ralph Emery is a country music disc jockey and television host from Nashville, Tennessee. He gained national fame hosting the syndicated television music series, Pop! Goes the Country, from 1974 to 1980 and the nightly Nashville Network television program, Nashville Now, from 1983 to 1993...
began a short-lived retirement from broadcasting, and left Nashville Now in the process. Upon Emery's exit, the show was overhauled and renamed Music City Tonight (hosted by Lorianne Crook
Lorianne Crook
Lorianne Crook is an American radio and television host, producer and writer. She is best known for her work on The Nashville Network programs This Week In Country Music and Crook & Chase with Charlie Chase.-Early life:...
and Charlie Chase). After a very short run, Crook and Chase left the show to launch a syndicated daytime show, Crook & Chase
Crook & Chase
Crook & Chase is an American television talk show hosted by Lorianne Crook and Charlie Chase, focusing primarily but not exclusively on country music....
, which would eventually return to TNN after two years in the syndication market. Music City Tonight was again overhauled to resemble its original Nashville Now format, but was re-branded as Prime Time Country. This version was originally hosted by actor Tom Wopat
Tom Wopat
Tom Wopat is an American actor and singer. He first achieved fame as Luke Duke in the long-running 1979 television series The Dukes of Hazzard, along with John Schneider. He also played Jeff, one of Cybill Shepherd's ex-husbands in the TV series Cybill.-Life and career:Wopat was born in Lodi,...
. He was later replaced with Christian singer/songwriter Gary Chapman
Gary Chapman (musician)
Gary Chapman is an American Contemporary Christian music singer-songwriter and former television talk show host.-Early life and music career:...
, who enjoyed relative success with the show until its cancellation in 1999 as part of the MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
overhaul of the network.
The late 1990s also saw the network's first attempts to distance itself from its country music/country lifestyle image and court a younger demographic. In 1998, the network dropped its "The Nashville Network" moniker and shortened its official name to TNN, and ownership shifted to Viacom
Viacom
Viacom Inc. , short for "Video & Audio Communications", is an American media conglomerate with interests primarily in, but not limited to, cinema and cable television...
in the late 1990s after their acquisition of CBS Corporation, Westinghouse's successor. TNN subsequently moved from its original Nashville base to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and folded into Viacom's MTV Networks
MTV Networks
MTV Networks is a division of media conglomerate Viacom that oversees the operations of many television channels and Internet brands, including the original MTV channel in the United States...
division; sister network CMT, however, remained in Nashville. 1998 witnessed the premiere of RollerJam
RollerJam
RollerJam was an American television series featuring roller derby that aired on The Nashville Network from 1999 to 2001. It was the first attempt to bring roller derby to TV since RollerGames....
, which brought roller derby
Roller derby
Roller derby is a contact sport played by two teams of five members roller skating in the same direction around a track. Game play consists of a series of short matchups in which both teams designate a scoring player who scores points by lapping members of the opposing team...
back to television for the first time in almost a decade. The next year, TNN began its relationship with professional wrestling
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
, signing a three-year deal with Extreme Championship Wrestling
Extreme Championship Wrestling
Extreme Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1992 by Tod Gordon and closed when his successor, Paul Heyman, declared bankruptcy in April 2001...
(ECW). ECW on TNN
ECW on TNN
ECW on TNN was a weekly American professional wrestling television program that aired on The Nashville Network from August 27, 1999 to October 6, 2000...
was the highest-rated show on TNN through 2000, despite limited advertising. ECW on TNN and RollerJam formed the core of the network's "Friday Night Thrill Zone" program block
Block programming
Block programming or television block is a strategy of broadcast programming and radio programmers. Block programming occurs when the television network schedules similar television programs back-to-back. The concept is to provide similar programming to keep the viewers. Radio stations use it...
, which was responsible for an increase in the network's young male viewership on Friday nights.
Format change and relaunch as Spike: 2000-present
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
or WWE) programming, decided to refocus TNN. The network was renamed The National Network and reformatted to compete with TNT, TBS
TBS (TV channel)
TBS , stylized in the logo as tbs, is an American cable television channel owned by Time Warner that shows a variety of programming, with a focus on comedy. TBS was originally known as WTCG, a UHF terrestrial television station that broadcast from Atlanta, Georgia, during the late 1970s...
, and the USA Network
USA Network
USA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various...
and attract viewers in the 18- to 49-year-old demographic. Prior to 2000, over half of TNN's viewers were 55 years old and over. Only one third of them were 18 to 49, according to Nielsen Media Research.
Some of TNN's programming included off-network sitcoms such as Diff'rent Strokes
Diff'rent Strokes
Diff'rent Strokes is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC from November 3, 1978 to May 4, 1985, and on ABC from September 27, 1985 to March 7, 1986...
, The Wonder Years
The Wonder Years
The Wonder Years is an American television comedy-drama created by Carol Black and Neal Marlens. It ran for six seasons on ABC from 1988 through 1993. The pilot aired on January 31, 1988 after ABC's coverage of Super Bowl XXII....
, and Taxi
Taxi (TV series)
Taxi was an American sitcom that originally aired from 1978 to 1982 on ABC and from 1982 to 1983 on NBC. The series, which won 18 Emmy Awards, including three for "Outstanding Comedy Series", focuses on the everyday lives of a handful of New York City taxi drivers and their abusive dispatcher...
and the failed relaunch of Ren and Stimpy, Ren and Stimpy Adult Party Cartoon
Ren and Stimpy Adult Party Cartoon
Ren & Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon" is an animated television series created by an american animator John Kricfalusi for the cable network Spike . The series was an adults-only-revival and spin-off of the original animated series, The Ren & Stimpy Show, which had previously aired on the American...
. Eventually, male-oriented shows, such as Baywatch
Baywatch
Baywatch is an American action drama series about the Los Angeles County Lifeguards who patrol the beaches of Los Angeles County, California, starring David Hasselhoff. The show ran in its original title and format from 1989 to 1999, sans the 1990-1991 season, of which it was not in production...
, Monster Jam
Monster Jam
Monster Jam is a live motorsport event tour and television show operated by Feld Entertainment. The series is sanctioned under the umbrella of the United States Hot Rod Association and takes place primarily in the United States and around the world...
, Bull Riding
Bull riding
Bull riding refers to rodeo sports that involve a rider getting on a large bull and attempting to stay mounted while the animal attempts to buck off the rider....
, Robot Wars
Robot Wars (TV series)
Robot Wars is a British game show modelled on a US-based competition of the same name. It was broadcast on BBC Two from 1998 until 2003, with its final series broadcast on Five in 2003 and 2004. Additional series were filmed for specific sectors of the global market, including two series of Robot...
and Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
were added to the network's lineup and the demographic was changed to target "young adult
Young adult (psychology)
A young adult, according to Erik Erikson's stages of human development, is generally a person between the age of 20 - 40, whereas an adolescent is a person between the age of 13 - 19, although definitions and opinions vary. The young adult stage in human development precedes middle adulthood. A...
males". This change in the target demographic led TNN to be renamed Spike TV in 2003, and then to simply Spike in 2006.
Today, Spike is available in 96.1 million American homes, and the average age of its viewers is 42. The network features re-runs of popular shows such as CSI
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation is an American crime drama television series, which premiered on CBS on October 6, 2000. The show was created by Anthony E. Zuiker and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer...
, CSI: NY
CSI: NY
CSI: NY is an American police procedural television series that premiered on September 22, 2004, on CBS. The show follows the investigations of a team of NYPD forensic scientists and police officers as they unveil the circumstances behind mysterious and unusual deaths as well as other crimes...
, Unsolved Mysteries
Unsolved Mysteries
Unsolved Mysteries is an American television program, hosted by Robert Stack, from 1987 until 2002, and later by Dennis Farina, starting in 2008...
, Married With Children, UFC, and various original programs and movies. It is also the home of the professional wrestling organization Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling is a privately held professional wrestling promotion founded by Jeff Jarrett and Jerry Jarrett. The company broadcasts its events on television and the Internet fifty two weeks a year with over a million weekly viewers on its primary television program, Impact...
's flagship show Impact!
TNA iMPACT!
Impact Wrestling is a professional wrestling television program for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling that currently airs in the United States and Canada on Spike...
, MadTV
MADtv
MADtv is an American sketch comedy television series. It licensed the name and logo of Mad, but otherwise had no connection with the humor magazine outside the animated Spy vs. Spy and Don Martin cartoon shorts and images of Alfred E. Neuman that the show featured during the late 1990s. Its first...
, and Miami Vice
Miami Vice
Miami Vice is an American television series produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series starred Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas as two Metro-Dade Police Department detectives working undercover in Miami. It ran for five seasons on NBC from 1984–1989...
.
See also
- Great American CountryGreat American CountryGreat American Country , is a Nashville, Tennessee-based country music cable television network.-History:The station launched December 31, 1995 and Garth Brooks' video "The Thunder Rolls" was the first video to air on GAC....
, former competitor and current home to some former TNN programs - RFD-TVRFD-TVRFD-TV, or Rural Free Delivery TV, is a United States satellite and cable television channel devoted to rural issues, concerns, and interests. The channel's name is a reference to Rural Free Delivery, the name for the United States Postal Service's system of delivering mail directly to rural patrons...
(Rural Free Delivery TV) a network launched in 2000 with similar programming to TNN.