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Viacom has recently been battling in the courts with Spike Lee over their attempt to rename TNN to Spike TV. That’s interesting. But what’s truly shocking is what the company is doing with Spike TV. If you remember TNN as the gentle, family-friendly “The Nashville Network,” then you too will be shocked by the new strategy. Billed as “the first network for men,” this cable channel is going the same places as so called “men’s magazines” and “gentlemen’s clubs.” Given their Christian values, the Gaylord family is undoubtedly kicking itself for selling TNN to Viacom in 1997.
What is this Spike TV? Here’s a sample of what the network will feature – taken from an April Viacom press release: “this June, the network will premiere its most ambitious original programming effort to date with a provocative new weekly animation block for guys, anchored by Stan Lee’s Stripperella, starring Pamela Anderson; Gary the Rat, starring Kelsey Grammer and from creators Robb and Mark Cullen; and the return of the breakthrough series Ren & Stimpy, featuring new original and very adult episodes from the mind of John Krisfaluci.” The same press release highlights a partnership with the soft-porn magazine – oops, I mean “male-focused interests magazine” – Stuff and other network content such as “The 100 Most Irresistible Women” and its “Uncut” line of R+ rated movies.
So, what’s so shocking about a cable television network that appeals to the basest sinful nature of man? A quick scan of the cable channel guide will assure you that this is nothing unique or new.
What’s shocking is TNN’s heritage and how far the network has fallen.
Not being a country music fan, and not being a cable television subscriber, I can’t claim to have spent much time watching TNN. However, I know that TNN was formerly owned by Gaylord Entertainment. The company sold the network to Viacom in 1997 as it executed a strategy to divest non-core assets and focus on its core hospitality and entertainment businesses. Gaylord Entertainment’s current focus is the Opryland Hotel in Nashville and various spin-offs, including the Grand Ole Opry, the Gaylord Entertainment Center, and the Gaylord Palms resort near Orlando.
Gaylord Entertainment takes its name from the Gaylord family of Oklahoma. Two family members still serve on the board, including E. K. Gaylord II, the President of The Oklahoma Publishing Company. To get a true sense of how far TNN has fallen, we just need to look at the primary product of The Oklahoma Publishing Company – The Daily Oklahoman, Oklahoma City’s daily newspaper.
The most telling description (in a back-handed way) I’ve found of this publication is in a 1999 feature article in the liberal Columbia Journalism Review titled “The Worst Newspaper in America.” I will quote liberally from that piece, which obviously vilifies the Gaylord’s daily newspaper.
CJR‘s Bruce Selcraig rants: “Where else can you find a big-city editorial page – run by a Christian Coalition devotee plucked from Washington D.C.’s right-wing Free Congress Foundation – that not only demonizes unions, environmentalists, feminists, Planned Parenthood, and public education, but also seems obsessed with lecturing gays? From an Oklahoman editorial titled, sin no more?: ‘There’s no solid proof that anyone is born a homosexual . . . . Homosexuality is a sin . . . . But to deny that a sin is a sin and wallow in it is the first step toward damnation. To recognize bad behavior as a sin, repent of it and ‘go and sin no more’ is the first step toward salvation.'”
Makes me want to rush out and order a subscription!
Selcraig goes on to lambaste the paper for featuring a daily front-page prayer and columns by Billy Graham, Zig Ziglar, and Argus Hamilton, a “clean, keen, and topical” standup comic whose faults include being the son of a minister.
To bring this issue into context for our business audience, the Gaylords are undoubtedly kicking themselves. Where did they go wrong? Was it wrong of them to sell TNN?
No. A focused business strategy is commendable, and executing that strategy often involves hard decisions, such as selling assets that may be near and dear to you.
However, where the Gaylords failed was in fully valuing the deal. Not every deal can be valued purely based on financial terms. Gaylord Entertainment is currently defined by its focus on resorts that attract large conventions, however, it is also defined by its heritage and the legacy of the Gaylord family. In selling assets such as TNN and Word Entertainment (a Christian music business sold to the Warner Music Group in 2001), the company should’ve considered, and to the extent possible contractually ensured, that the family-friendly components of the Gaylord brand would not be damaged by the purchasers of those assets.
Although Viacom lacks the kind of clear strategy and vision statement that guides Gaylord, a quick glance at their respective products and businesses would tell you that both companies are seeking to serve primarily American audiences with what they each believe to be quality entertaining experiences.
Now, I ask you – which is better serving American men? Spike TV with self-proclaimed “very adult” content, or The Daily Oklahoman with its daily prayer and “clean, keen, and topical” comedy?
My hope and prayer is that Viacom’s network truly gets spiked!
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