The renewal agreement includes the bi-weekly half-hour news program, as well as a new series of weekly news updates and specials.
"Country Music Across America is a great vehicle to take GAC viewers backstage and on the road to keep up with their favorite artists. Wherever country music news is happening, Storme is always there," said Sarah Trahern, senior vice president of programming for GAC. "Our mission is to be America"s main street for country music, its artists and the lifestyles they influence, and Country Music Across America covers all those bases."
Since its debut on GAC in 2003, Country Music Across America has become well-known not only for its unprecedented access to artists, but for its "go anywhere at anytime" approach to covering the country music industry.
"Our viewers tell us that we can take them to places they don"t have the opportunity to go," Warren said. "They get to live vicariously through us, and they like that kind of access."
In addition to taking viewers behind the scenes of recording sessions, video productions, events and awards shows, Country Music Across America frequently transports them to remote locations to see how artists and industry insiders interact in less familiar places. One recent GAC episode took viewers from the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville to the annual Songwriter"s Festival in Key West, Fla. Other shows have originated from the "Country in the Rockies" cancer research benefit in Crested Butte, Colo., from the island of San Salvador in the Bahamas and from the cozy Music Row studio where singer/songwriter Kix Brooks (half of the popular duo Brooks & Dunn) hosts his weekly syndicated radio program.
"We do a lot of traveling for our show. I think we"ve been to more than 20 states and five countries in our short two-and-a-half year history. If it is important to our viewers to be there, we"re going to go there," Warren said.
A new episode of Country Music Across America debuts every other Thursday at 9 pm ET, with encore telecasts scheduled throughout the ensuing weekend. The expanded features, including weekly news briefs and specials, will launch later in 2006.
About Great American Country
Great American Country is America"s main street for the widest variety of country music, its artists and the lifestyles they influence. In addition to country music videos, GAC features original programming, special musical performances and live concerts, and is the exclusive television home of the Grand Ole Opry. GAC is available in more than 42 million households and online at GACTV.com.
GAC is owned by Scripps Networks, the leading developer of lifestyle-oriented content for television and the Internet, including Home & Garden Television (HGTV), Food Network, DIY Network and FINE LIVING. Scripps Networks is based in Knoxville, Tenn., with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit, Atlanta and Nashville, and is owned by The E.W. Scripps Company (NYSE:SSP), a diverse media concern with interests in newspaper publishing, broadcast television, national television networks and interactive media. Scripps operates 21 daily newspapers, 10 broadcast TV stations, Scripps Howard News Service, United Media and Shopzilla.com.
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