Patrick Gottsch (June 3, 1953 – May 18, 2024) was an American media executive. He was the founder of

Rural Media Group RFD-TV is an American pay television channel owned by Rural Media Group, Inc. The channel features programming devoted to rural issues, concerns and interests. The channel's name is a reference to Rural Free Delivery, the name for the United St ...

, which includes

RFD-TV RFD-TV is an American pay television channel owned by Rural Media Group, Inc. The channel features programming devoted to rural issues, concerns and interests. The channel's name is a reference to Rural Free Delivery, the name for the United St ...

Early life

Patrick Gottsch was born on June 3, 1953, in

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

to Bernard Gottsch, a farmer, and Gloria Gottsch (née Borowiak). He was raised on a farm in Elkhorn, Nebraska. He attended Sam Houston University on a baseball scholarship for one year until leaving due to a hand injury. He worked as a farmer, commodities broker, and satellite dish installer.

Broadcasting career

In 1988, Gottsch started RFD-TV, which aired news, weather, agribusiness and market reports. The channel went into bankruptcy a year later, as no cable network would carry the station. From 1991 to 1996, he worked for Superior Livestock Auction in

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

. In 1996, Gottsch left Superior to restart RFD-TV, this time as a non–profit at the suggestion of Charlie Ergen, co-founder of

Dish Network DISH Network L.L.C., often referred to as DISH, an abbreviation for Digital Sky Highway, is an American provider of satellite television and IPTV services and wholly owned subsidiary of EchoStar Corporation. The company was originally establ ...

. He developed the channel which aired existing agriculture, equine, music, and rural programs. It began airing on Dish Network in 2000, then on

DirecTV DirecTV, LLC is an American Multichannel television in the United States, multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital Satellite television, s ...

in 2002. In 2007, he converted the business into a for–profit company. The channel began simulcasting ''

Imus in the Morning ''Imus in the Morning'' was a long-running radio show hosted by Don Imus. The show originated on June 2, 1968, on various stations in the Western United States and Cleveland, Ohio, before settling on WNBC radio in New York City in 1971. In Octo ...

'' broadcasts, which had been cancelled by

MSNBC MSNBC is an American cable news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Launched on July 15, 1996, and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, the channel primarily broadcasts r ...

. RFD-TV subsequently began airing on

Comcast Comcast Corporation, formerly known as Comcast Holdings,Before the AT&T Broadband, AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation, not th ...

cable network. In 2017, Gottsch started

The Cowboy Channel The Cowboy Channel is an American cable television network in over 42 million cable and satellite homes, which carries Western programming and rodeo sports. The network was founded in 1979 as the National Christian Network, later took the name ...

, a rebranding of the FamilyNet network, and in 2023, The Cowgirl Channel.

Personal life

Gottsch was married to Shirley Hickey until their divorce in 1991. After divorcing, he moved to Fort Worth, Texas, with his two daughters. In 2017, he married Angie Good with whom he had another daughter. In 2013, Gottsch led the effort to break the

Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

for the largest

Pick-Up Truck Pickup(s), pick-up, or pick up may refer to: Film * ''Pick-Up'' (1933 film), a crime film starring Sylvia Sidney and George Raft * ''Pickup'' (1951 film), an American film noir directed by Hugo Haas * ''Pick-Up'' (1975 film), an exploitation f ...

Parade at the

Indianapolis Motor Speedway The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a motor racing circuit located in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400, and and formerly the home of the U ...

. Gottsch died on May 18, 2024, at a hotel in the

Fort Worth Stockyards The Fort Worth Stockyards is a historic district that is located in Fort Worth, Texas, United States, north of the central business district. A portion encompassing much of the district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as F ...

district, aged 70. He was succeeded in leadership of Rural Media Group by his two eldest daughters, Raquel Gottsch Koehler and Gatsby Gottsch Solheim.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gottsch, Patrick American media executives 1953 births 2024 deaths Businesspeople from Omaha, Nebraska Farmers from Nebraska Sam Houston Bearkats baseball players Baseball players from Omaha, Nebraska 20th-century American sportsmen