Thursday, December 12, 2019

Grand Ole Opry Returning To TV


The Grand Ole Opry will be returning to television via the recently-announced Circle Network owned by the Opry Entertainment Group—or at least portions of the show will be, along with expanded specialty programming tied to the iconic country music institution.

Also coming to television will be the more regular rebroadcasting of vintage Hee-Haw episodes, shows featuring Opry members Craig Morgan and Dailey & Vincent, Elizabeth Cook will also have a show, along with other programming delving deep into country music culture.

The Circle Network has announced the full slate of programming that will be available in 56 markets via Gray Television, as well as in markets including New York, Los Angeles, Dallas-Fort Worth, Tampa and Detroit through a separate agreement with CBS Television, ultimately reaching an estimated 50% of U.S. television households.

The network will launch on January 1st, 2020 with 16 original shows, with The Grand Ole Opry programming beginning in February of 2020.

Along with the program called Opry Live which will include new live-recorded Grand Ole Opry performances to be released each week, there will be another show called Opry Debut focusing on artists making their first appearance on the show, and Opry Docs about the history of the Grand Ole Opry.

Though audio of the Grand Ole Opry has always been broadcast by WSM 650 AM out of Nashville, and though the longest-running program on radio was syndicated across the country for decades, it’s been many years since the program that made country music famous could be seen on any screen. Certain moments and performances are released via the Opry’s YouTube channel, but it tends to be a very select amount of material, even though cameras are stationed throughout the Opry House, and the building was designed specifically to work for television broadcasts.

There has yet to be confirmation on the specific markets and channels that will be included in the network. Gray Television media markets can be found here, but a partnership with CBS will mean other markets are also covered. The Circle Network also plans to launch a premium digital channel available online by the spring of 2020. More information on the specific markets and channels The Circle Network will be found on when it becomes available.

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