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.
The channel was originally founded by a partnership between radio station WSM and Westinghouse Broadcasting as The Nashville Network (TNN) and began broadcasting on March 7, 1983. It initially featured programming catering towards the culture of the Southern United States, including country music, variety shows, outdoors programming, and motor racing coverage (such as NASCAR). TNN was purchased by the Gaylord Entertainment Company in 1983. After Gaylord bought CMT in 1991, TNN's music programming was shifted to CMT, leaving TNN to focus on entertainment and lifestyle programming.
In 1995, TNN and CMT were acquired by Westinghouse, which was in turn acquired by Viacom in 1999. Under Viacom ownership, TNN would phase out country-influenced programming in favor of a general entertainment format appealing to Middle America. It was renamed The National Network in September 2000, coinciding with the network premiere of WWF Raw. In August 2003, TNN relaunched as Spike TV, which targeted a young adult male audience. From June 2006, the network's programming had a more explicit focus on the action genre, while in 2010, the network had an increased focus on original reality series. This culminated with a final rebrand in 2015 to emphasize gender-balanced series (such as Lip Sync Battle) and a return to original scripted programming. On January 18, 2018, Spike relaunched as Paramount Network, aiming to align the network with its namesake studio (which previously lent its name to the now-defunct United Paramount Network), and to position it as a flagship, "premium" channel.
One of Paramount Network's only major successes in scripted programming has been Yellowstone—which quickly became the channel's flagship drama, and has spawned multiple spin-offs on Paramount+, the streaming service owned by its parent company Paramount Global. In 2020 and 2021, the channel cancelled most of its original series or moved them to other Paramount Global networks, as part of a proposed plan to relaunch the Paramount Network with a focus on made-for-TV films. By January 2022, these plans had been scrapped due to the impact of COVID-19 and success of the Yellowstone franchise, leaving it and Spike holdover Bar Rescue as the channel's only original, first-run programs. The channel has also featured limited engagements of new Paramount+ original series by Yellowstone co-creator Taylor Sheridan, using Yellowstone as a lead-in.
As of September 2018, approximately 80.24 million households in the United States received Paramount Network.
History
The Nashville Network (1983–2000)
The Nashville Network first launched on March 7, 1983; it was dedicated to the culture and lifestyle of country music and the U.S. South. It originally operated as a joint venture of WSM, Inc., at the time owned by National Life and Accident Insurance Company, and Group W Satellite Communications. TNN operated from the now-defunct Opryland USA theme park near Nashville, Tennessee. Country Music Television (CMT), founded by Glenn D. Daniels, beat TNN's launch by two days, robbing them of the claim of the "first country music cable television network." TNN's flagship shows included Nashville Now, The Statler Brothers Show, American Sports Cavalcade and Grand Ole Opry Live. Nashville Now and the Grand Ole Opry were broadcast live from Opryland USA.
The Gaylord Entertainment Company purchased WSM, along with TNN and the Opryland properties, in the latter half of 1987. Much of TNN's programming (except for its sports) during the Gaylord era was originally produced by Opryland Productions, also owned by Gaylord Entertainment. From 1983 to 1992, all of TNN's auto racing and motor sports coverage was produced by Diamond P Sports. Starting in 1993, TNN started having its NASCAR coverage produced by World Sports Enterprises, and the American Speed Association coverage produced by Group 5 Sports, while Diamond P continued to produce most of the rest of the racing coverage. Programming included variety shows, talk shows, game shows, outdoor shows (such as hunting and fishing), and lifestyle shows; all centered in some way around country music or the country style of living.