The Cowboy Channel is an American cable television network in over 42 million cable and satellite homes, which carries

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

programming and

rodeo Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working vaqu ...

sports. The network was founded in 1979 as the National Christian Network, later took the name FamilyNet in 1988 under the ownership of

Jerry Falwell Jerry Laymon Falwell Sr. (August 11, 1933 – May 15, 2007) was an American Baptist pastor, televangelist, and conservatism in the United States, conservative activist. He was the founding pastor of the Thomas Road Baptist Church, a megachurch ...

, and then in 2017 was rebranded as The Cowboy Channel. In November 2024, it was announced that Western sports and entertainment company Teton Ridge had acquired The Cowboy Channel, along with The Cowgirl Channel and their live streaming and on-demand service, Cowboy Channel+. Until then, the networks were operated by

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 owns

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 ...

History

As FamilyNet

The channel was acquired by InTouch Ministries in October 2007 from the

Southern Baptist Convention The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), alternatively the Great Commission Baptists (GCB), is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist organization, the largest Protestant, and the second-largest Chr ...

. In December 2009, FamilyNet was acquired by Robert A. Schuller's ComStar Media Fund. In 2010, FamilyNet was spun out into its own company, with Robert A. Schuller as the chairman. The organization also operated FamilyNet Radio 161, a full-time Christian talk channel on

Sirius Satellite Radio Sirius Satellite Radio was a satellite radio ( SDARS) service that operated in the United States and Canada. Sirius launched in 2002, and primarily competed with XM Satellite Radio, until the two services merged in 2008 to form Sirius XM. Li ...

, but was discontinued on November 30, 2010; FamilyTalk replaced it. From 2011 to 2012, the channel showed sitcoms like ''

The Bob Newhart Show ''The Bob Newhart Show'' is an American television sitcom produced by MTM Enterprises that aired on CBS from September 16, 1972, to April 1, 1978, with a total of 142 half-hour episodes over six seasons. Comedian Bob Newhart portrays a psychol ...

'', ''

Newhart ''Newhart'' is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS from October 25, 1982, to May 21, 1990, with a total of 184 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons. The series stars Bob Newhart and Mary Frann as an author and his wife, respe ...

'', and ''

Mr. Belvedere ''Mr. Belvedere'' is an American sitcom that originally broadcasting, aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from March 15, 1985 until its cancellation (television), cancellation following the 107th episodic television, episode on December ...

''. On October 24, 2012,

Rural TV Rural TV was a rural lifestyle and culture television channel, broadcast internationally. It was launched on March 2, 2009, replacing Pulse +45mins. It merged with FamilyNet in 2013. Background Rural TV, known as "The World's Rural Channel", wa ...

purchased FamilyNet, and the transaction took effect on January 1, 2013. At first the network was used to carry an all-trading day format of farm and market news, which eventually moved to a reduced timeslot on RFD-TV due to low interest and ratings. Rural Media, which had considered merging RFD-TV and FamilyNet together to gain over-the-air carriage, eventually decided to keep FamilyNet as a separate service, but with a refocus in programming towards classic television programming which was not picked up by competitors

MeTV MeTV, an acronym for Memorable Entertainment Television, is an American broadcast television network owned by Weigel Broadcasting. Marketed as "The Definitive Destination for Classic TV", the network airs a variety of classic television progra ...

Antenna TV Antenna TV is an American digital television network owned by Nexstar Media Group. The network's programming consists of classic television series, primarily sitcoms, from the 1950s to the 1990s. Antenna TV's programming and advertising operatio ...

and

Cozi TV Cozi TV (stylized on-air as COZI TV) is an American free-to-air television network owned by the NBC Owned Television Stations division of NBCUniversal. The network airs classic television series from the 1950s to the 2000s. The network originat ...

. Rural Media also decided not to renew over-the-air contracts with stations in a slow process in order to make it a cable-only network. A number of former FamilyNet affiliates (mainly religious stations) continue to carry programming recorded from the network's feed before the Rural TV sale, seemingly under a perpetual license. In September 2014, FamilyNet was refocused with classic television series and films from the

Sony Pictures Television Sony Pictures Television Inc. (abbreviated as SPT) is an American television production company, production and broadcast syndication, distribution studio. Based at the Sony Pictures Studios complex in Culver City, California, it is a division o ...

libraries, with Sony also assisting with advertising sales. Religious programming, which used to make up the vast majority of the schedule under SBC and Schuller's ownership, was limited to Sunday mornings, though Rural Media also maintained FamilyNet's paid programming overnights despite their executives' traditional disdain for depending on those programs for revenue. (RFD-TV since also began to carry overnight paid programming.)

As The Cowboy Channel

On June 19, 2017, Rural Media Group CEO Patrick Gottsch announced that on July 1, FamilyNet would be rebranded as The Cowboy Channel, featuring a focus on Western sports and rodeo events, which had proven to be a popular attraction on RFD-TV. Gottsch thanked Sony Pictures Television for bringing the network to a solid footing, but noted that overwhelming competition in the classic television space from networks such as

Heroes & Icons Heroes & Icons (H&I) is an American digital multicast television network owned by Weigel Broadcasting. Usually carried on the digital subchannels of its affiliated television station in most markets, the network airs classic television series ...

and several other networks and streaming options had made the space more competitive and crowded, while a Western sports network was seen as a unique opportunity to stand out in cable and satellite lineups. Among the network's first offerings were encore events from RFD's The American Rodeo, the

Calgary Stampede The Calgary Stampede is an annual rodeo, fair, exhibition, and festival held every July in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The ten-day event, which bills itself as "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth", attracts over one million visitors per year a ...

, and the

Professional Bull Riders The Professional Bull Riders, Inc. (PBR) is an international professional bull riding organization headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. It is the largest bull riding league in the world, sanctioning hundreds of events every yea ...

archives. Sony's archived programming thus moved to their own

GetTV Get (Great Entertainment Television, stylized as get. since 2023, and formerly stylized as getTV) is an American Digital subchannel#Commercial networks, digital multicast television network owned by the Sony Pictures Television#Sony Pictures Tel ...

at the start of 2018. The Cowboy Channel signed a multi-year agreement with the

Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) is the largest rodeo organization in the world. It sanctions events in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, with members from said countries, as well as others. Its championship event is the N ...

to televise and stream their major events, including the

National Finals Rodeo The National Finals Rodeo (NFR) is the premier championship rodeo of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). It showcases the talents of the PRCA's top 15 money winners in the season for each event. The NFR is held each year in the f ...

, starting in 2020. With the network conversion, Rural Media used the change in format as a contractual opportunity to terminate its remaining over-the-air affiliations to launch The Cowboy Channel as a pay-TV only offering. A Canadian version of the channel was launched on February 1, 2020, on Shaw Direct television systems through a partnership with Rural Media. The Cowgirl Channel was launched on March 1, 2023. It specializes in programming about women in professional rodeo, western fashion, and rural lifestyles in general through the perspectives of women. Rodeos not televised on The Cowboy Channel are televised on The Cowgirl Channel. In 2023, The Cowboy Channel signed a multi-year agreement with the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association to televise and stream their major events, including the Canadian Finals Rodeo through December 31, 2027. The Cowboy Channel Canada also televises these events. Patrick Gottsch, the founder and president of Rural Media Group, died on May 18, 2024, at the age of 70. He was succeeded in leadership of Rural Media Group by his two eldest daughters, Raquel Gottsch Koehler and Gatsby Gottsch Solheim.

Programming

Much of the Cowboy Channel's non-sports programming is drawn from RFD-TV's program library, with an emphasis on ranching and rodeo programs (thus the Cowboy Channel does not carry RFD-TV's music,

agribusiness Agribusiness is the industry, enterprises, and the field of study of value chains in agriculture and in the bio-economy, in which case it is also called bio-business or bio-enterprise. The primary goal of agribusiness is to maximize profit ...

or news programming). Like RFD-TV, the Cowboy Channel carries brokered

televangelism Televangelism (from ''televangelist'', a blend of ''television'' and ''evangelist'') and occasionally termed radio evangelism or teleministry, denotes the utilization of media platforms, notably radio and television, for the marketing of relig ...

programming on Sunday mornings.

Current programming

* ''Best of America by Horseback'' * ''Better Horses'' * ''Bullseye with Jeff Medders'' * '' Chris Cox Horsemanship'' * '' Cinch High School Rodeo Tour'' * ''Gentle Giants'' * ''Hidden Heritage'' * ''Horse of the West'' * ''Hunt Warz'' * ''Legends'' * '' Little Britches Rodeo'' * '' PRCA ProRodeo'' * ''ProRodeo Tonight'' * '' Red Steagall is Somewhere West of Wall Street'' * ''Ride Smart with Craig Cameron'' * ''Road to the NFR'' * ''Saddle Up with Dennis Brouse'' * ''Special Cowboy Moments'' * ''Steve Lantvit Horsemanship'' * ''The American Rancher'' * ''The Edge'' * ''Total Team Roping'' * ''Western Sports Round-Up'' * ''Wild Rides'' * ''Zero In''

Reruns

*'' The Roy Rogers Show''

Former programming

FamilyNet (1988–2017)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cowboy Channel Television networks in the United States Sports television networks in the United States Companies based in Omaha, Nebraska Companies based in Nashville, Tennessee Television channels and stations established in 1979 2024 mergers and acquisitions