Think there’s nothing but gory, raunchy trash on TV nowadays? Well, you’re obviously not working your remote hard enough. If you are looking for a place to kick up your heels to the sounds of polka music, cheer on men who compete on tractors, and pick up tips on how to train mules (parents with head strong teens take note) then remember these letters: RFD-TV.
The call letters were chosen as a reference to “Rural Free Delivery,” the mail service used in rural America. Before RFD, residents living in rural areas had to travel to the nearest post office to get their mail.
Billed as “rural America’s most important network,” RFD combines the best of what other networks specialize in and put their own spin on it. Remember ABC’s “Wide World of Sports”? RFD has “Wide World of Horses.” Like to watch celebrity chefs whip up fabulous dishes on the Food Network? RFD has “Campfire Cafe” where cookbook author Pamela Alford shows couch potatoes how to cook taters and other wildlife over an open fire. And MTV has nothing on polka king Jimmy Sturr who has a rousing 30-minute show on RFD-TV.
And lest you think the network only attracts four-legged celebs—-think again. Country music queen Reba McEntire, recently appeared on one of RFD-TV’s most popular shows hosted by Ralph Emery, a TV veteran and mainstay on cable’s old Nashville Network. McEntire talked about her years as a 4-H Club member and her experiences as a rodeo competitor.
If the existence of RFD-TV is news to you then brace yourself for another shocker—-the network has been on the air since December 2000. It now appears on 800 cable systems plus satellite services, and is distributed to more than 30 million homes.
“No one else does it, so we try to fill the void,” Patrick Gottsch, the cable channel’s founder and president said at a recent press event to promote the channel. “When we put it on, the cards and letters poured in, some of them five to six pages.”
Looking back, Gottsch says he did the right thing when he invested $19,000 of mostly his own money to start the channel in Fort Worth, Texas. The network’s corporate office is now in Omaha, Nebraska, but the programming is produced in Nashville.
Granted many of the shows revolve around rodeos–“Little Britches Rodeo,””Beyond Rodeo,” and “20X Rodeo High” (to name just a few)–but the network also airs other gems such as programs that teach viewers how to train mules and donkeys.
Are you a fan of RFD-TV?
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