Country United States Official website tcncountry.com Launch date 7 January 2009 | Owner TCN Country, LLC Founded 2009 | |
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Availability Nationwide (available on OTA digital television and LPTV in two markets)
(covering 25% of the U.S.) Key people Tim Eaton, President-CEO, Gary Pfleiger, CFO Former names Artists & Fans Network (2009)
American Music Video Network (2009–2010)
The Country Network (2010-2013), (2016-present)
ZUUS Country (2013-2016) Type of business Broadcast television network | ||
The Country Network is an American digital broadcast television network that specializes in broadcasting country music videos and original music based content, its playlist of videos extends from the 1980s through the present day. The network also airs occasional infomercials and traditional advertising.
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The network is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas with offices in Nashville, Tennessee, and New York .
History
The network first launched on January 7, 2009 as the Artists & Fans Network; the music video that inaugurated the network was the Kid Rock video "All Summer Long". AFN was first carried on satellite through DirecTV on channel 236.
In August 2009, after suffering from financial problems, Southern Venture Capital Group sold all the assets of the company to one of the founders, Warren Hansen, who then changed its name to the American Music Video Network, and rolled out the programming with a new look and feel. On February 15, 2010, the company was renamed The Country Network to represent its focus on country music. Around this time, The Country Network began to transition into a digital multicast network, carried over-the-air on broadcast television stations across the United States as well as the first broadcast network to simulcast to Roku, iPhone, iPad, web, and other OTT outlets.
On May 20, 2013, Zuus Media announced its acquisition of The Country Network. On June 1, 2013, Zuus Media announced the rebranding as Zuus Country.
Zuus Country lost many of its Sinclair affiliates on October 31, 2015, the day that Sinclair's joint venture network with MGM Television, the sci-fi-centric Comet, launched.
In January 2016, the network was purchased by a Texas-based company, TCNCountry LLC, with a 43,000 square foot studio, production and broadcast facility. TCN Country change the brand back to The Country Network, reviving its original name & logo for the revival of the network.
Affiliates
As of 2013, Zuus Country has television stations in over 41 television markets in 26 states, covering approximately 34 million over the air households an 18 million cable subscribers. ZUUS Country (at the time, still named The Country Network) signed a deal with Sinclair Broadcast Group in August 2010 to be carried on digital subchannels of Sinclair stations in most of its media markets; the network began airing on Sinclair owned and/or operated stations on October 10, 2010. After Sinclair's original drop of several affiliates in late 2015, the network was down to 24 markets. When TCN Country LLC purchased the network, they immediately started growing the distribution and as of January 30, 2017 the network was up to 54 markets along with the launch of a Roku channel and a slot on smart TVs manufactured by Hitachi and Panasonic.