Circle Country, previously known asCircle, is afree ad-supported streaming television (FAST) service owned byGray Media as part of itsPowerNation Studios division. The network's programming consists ofcountry music oriented shows,western films and rural/blue collar themed material, featuring a mix of original and off-network shows sourced from Opry Entertainment Group (the owner of theGrand Ole Opry, and Gray Media's former joint venture partner in the channel's previous incarnation as an over-the-air digital subchannel).
Circle ended the OTA portion of the channel on December 31, 2023. Streaming of the channel remained available under the Circle Country name. Many of the OTA stations replaced Circle with one of several networks under the new Gray/Lionsgate/Warner Bros. Discoveryjoint ventureFree TV Networks, which is led by broadcasting veteran Jonathan Katz. Opry's programming rights will be utilized on several new AVOD ventures by Opry andNBCUniversal, which took a 30% minority stake in Opry Entertainment in 2022.[2][3] Programs from the Circle Network continue to be available through various streaming providers on the Circle Country network after the OTA service ended.[4]
Circle Country was Opry Entertainment Group's fourth entry into television network ownership. From its founding in 1983 until 1997, OEG's parent company (Ryman Hospitality Properties), known then as the Gaylord Entertainment Company, was owner ofThe Nashville Network (TNN). Gaylord later bought a second country music-oriented cable network,Country Music Television (CMT), in 1991. Gaylord Entertainment sold both networks to theCBS Cable unit ofCBS Corporation in 1997 for $1.55 billion feeling that the two then-country networks could grow faster as part of a larger media company.[5] Gaylord, however, retained CMT International.[6] Gaylord Cable Networks took its stakes in TV Argentina and CMT International to launch the MusicCountry channel[7] in Mexico and Argentine in 2000. Then on September 1, 2000, the company launched the MusicCountry service in Europe. Gaylord would subsequently rebrand CMT channels in Australia, Brazil, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Asia-Pacific region's areas to the MusicCountry brand.[8]
Towards the end of the 2010s,Ryman Hospitality Properties was looking to venture back into television, with its Opry Entertainment unit already having co-produced the dramatic seriesNashville, along with the end of its partnerships to carry the Opry with CMT, thenGreat American Country, as their managements both shifted away from music programming and towards a more generic and broad-based focus onSouthern culture. In 2018, Ryman had settled on a broadcast television network and began pursuing starting one as they felt country music fans are underserved. Ryman tested nine potential shows via asizzle reel with excellent responses from focus group sessions.[9]
Ryman and Gray Television announced a joint venture between Gray and Ryman's subsidiary, Opry Entertainment Group on April 24, 2019 to launch a broadcast television network in early 2020 and an online streaming service later. The planned network would feature theGrand Ole Opry archives and performances from theGrand Ole Opry House and other Ryman-owned music venues.[9] On October 17, 2019, the joint venture partners would confirm that Gray-owned stations would be among the network's charter affiliates; they would also reveal on that date the network's name — Circle, which is a nod to the iconic 6-foot wooden section of stage at the Opry House (and that section's original home,Ryman Auditorium) on which various country stars have performed.[10]
On December 16, 2019, Circle's formal launch date of January 1, 2020 was announced for Circle, along with a roster of 16 new programs for the network. Additionally,CBS Television Stations was also announced as joining in Circle's list of charter affiliates, bringing major markets to the network's initial list of stations to 56 affiliates covering 50% of the country.[11] As of October 2020, Circle has 99 affiliates reaching 62.61% of U.S. TV households.[12]
On November 10, 2023, it was announced that Circle as an over-the-air network would cease its broadcast operations on December 31, 2023, as Gray transitions to a new partnership for its digital subchannel networks,Free TV Networks, withLionsgate andWarner Bros. Discovery. The final regular program to air on Circle as a OTA network was the movieRio Lobo. The channel continues streaming via the Circle Country network, with select programming such asCoffee, Country & Cody as well asOpry Live. In addition,Opry Live andThe Song will continue to be offered over-the-air via thesyndication market.[2][3]
Previously, Circle (as OTA sub-channel) provided up to 20 hours of programming to its owned-and-operated and affiliated stations on weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m. Eastern Time and on weekends from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m. Eastern Time. The remaining vacated hours were occupied by paid programming.
Circle featured programming geared toward both fans of the country music genre and rural audiences, a similar demographic targeted by competing country music-oriented multicast networksHeartland (which, incidentally from 2012 until 2013, used The Nashville Network moniker once used by Ryman's original cable network venture) andThe Country Network. Circle Country's programming primarily features a mix of original and acquired series with a country music or Southern lifestyle-centric format.
Circle previously broadcast two simultaneous feeds: one for digital distribution, and the other for terrestrial distribution. The terrestrial feed (which typically appeared as a digital subchannel of a major network affiliate station in numerous markets around the United States) aired classic movies and off-network syndicated programming, while the digital feed (distributed over streaming services such asPeacock andRoku) features more company-owned music-based programming. Those feeds converged for live programming, such as the daily simulcast ofWSM Radio morning show "Coffee, Country & Cody" andGrand Ole Opry broadcasts, as well as during regular timeslots of Circle-produced original programming. As of 2024, the terrestrial feed is no longer available, but the digital (aka streaming) feed remains available as Circle Country, with classic movies being added with the original programming.
As the network was under development, Circle Media developed several original productions for the network's inaugural programming slate—aiming to make it one of a handful of digital multicast services that carry original programming, and one of the few (alongside theLive Well Network, which reduced its national distribution outside of sister networksABC'sowned-and-operated stations in January 2015, and its rebrandLocalish) to offer a large original content slate. On December 11, 2019, Circle Media announced that it had greenlit 16 original programs slated to debut on the network in Circle's first five months of operation, including a simulcast ofWSM Radio'sCoffee, Country & Cody (which had previously aired on competing country music-oriented multicast networkHeartland),[13][14] and the music and interview seriesThe Dailey and Vincent Show which moved from the show's prior four-year home,RFD-TV.[15] and several docu-series (includingCraig's World, a reality program centering on country artistCraig Morgan;Fandom, focusing on the artist-fan relationship in country music;Upstream, a fishing/interview program hosted byElizabeth Cook; and severalGrand Ole Opry-focused series such asOpry Debut).[16]
Among the initial offerings were all surviving episodes ofHee Haw.[16]
Backstage at the Opry (January 1, 2020–present) – Docu-series following artists preparing for performances at the Grand Ole Opry.[11]
Bluebird Café Sessions (February 2020–present) – Music series featuring performances from popular and up-and-coming country artists, recorded at the iconic Bluebird Café in Nashville.[11]
Coffee, Country & Cody (January 1, 2020–present) – Television simulcast of theWSM Radio morning program; hosted by Bill Cody with co-host Charlie Mattos and entertainment correspondent Kelly Sutton.[14] The show is produced by occasional co-host Eric Marcum and is broadcast live from WSM Radio's studio inside theGaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center.
The Dailey & Vincent Show (January 1, 2020–present) – Music series hosted by thebluegrass/country/gospel duo of Jamie Dailey and Darrin Vincent featuring solo and collaborative performances with popular country music artists.[11]
Fandom (February 2020) – Docu-series exploring the relationship between country artists and their fans from each's perspective.[11]
Opry Live (February 2020–present)—One hour of an episode of theGrand Ole Opry; initially aired live in simulcast with the WSM radio broadcast,[17][11] since 2021,Opry Live has typically been a pre-recordedlive to tape hour of a Tuesday or FridayOpry radio broadcast or previously televised live Saturday broadcast, allowing WSM to continue carrying less demographic-friendly acts,square dances and audience-participation bits.
My Opry Debut (January 1, 2020–present) – Docu-series chronicling up-and-coming country artists making their debut performance at the Grand Ole Opry.[16]
Opry Anniversary (January 1, 2020–present) – Docu-series chronicling country artists looking back at their debut performance at the Grand Ole Opry.
Austin City Limits: Country (June 8-August 17, 2022) - Hosted by singer-songwriterRodney Crowell, featuring classicAustin City Limits episodes with a country flavor, along with behind-the-scenes, and never-before-seen interviews.
Opry Docs (January 1, 2020–present) – Docu-series hosted by contemporary artists chronicling the life and careers of legendary country musicians.[16]
Phil Vassar's Songs from the Cellar (January 2, 2020–present) – Music and interview series hosted byPhil Vassar, featuring interviews with artists, songwriters, entertainers, athletes and wine enthusiasts at his personal wine cellar.[11]
The Write Stuff (January 7, 2020–present) – Docu-series chronicling the composition steps of country music's greatest songs.[16]
Authentic America (January 2, 2020–present) – Hosted by veteran television hostNan Kelley and country artist Charlie Kelley, in which the married couple spotlight lesser-known attractions and eateries, and interesting people around the U.S.[16]
Better Half (January 2, 2020–present) – Reality docu-series chronicling the lives of the spouses of country andNASCAR stars.[16]
Craig's World (February 2020–present) – Docu-series featuringCraig Morgan dealing with the music world, his businesses and his family.[11]
Family Traditions (February 2020–present) – Docu-series profiling the descendants of legendary country music artists.[16]
Southern Weekend (January 2, 2020–present) – Travel series highlighting attractions of note across the Southern U.S.; hosted by Natalie Stovall.[11]
Stand Up Nashville! (January 3, 2020–present) – Stand-up comedy showcase recorded at Zanies Comedy Club in downtown Nashville.[16]
Upstream (May 2020 – present) – A fishing program featuring hostElizabeth Cook conducting conversations with country artists at various fishing locations.[16]
Previously, Circle had current or pending affiliation agreements with 96 television stations in 96media markets encompassing 39 states, covering 62.60% (or a total population of 195,620,130 residents) of all households in the United States that own at least one television set.[1] It is also carried as a live channel on NBC's streaming servicePeacock, and onVizio's Free Streaming Channels platform on their current generation ofsmart TVs.
Before its launch, Circle Media actively sought affiliation agreements with various television station owners to make the Circle network widely available throughout the United States. The network launched with clearance rate of, at minimum, 50% of overall American television households, in part due to affiliation agreements with stations owned by network co-parent Gray Television (initially encompassing 56 of the group's stations, with no clearance in approximately 15 other small-sized markets with a Gray-owned station)[10] andCBS Television Stations, which provided Circle broad clearance in the 25 largest U.S. markets (includingNew York City,Los Angeles,Philadelphia,San Francisco,Boston,Miami–Fort Lauderdale andDallas–Fort Worth) through the group'sindependent stations.[11]
Circle was not available over-the-air in the network's headquarters of Nashville when it launched, but added adigital subchannel ofWSMV-TV on January 31, 2020;WSMV-TV was previously owned alongside Ryman's Opry properties from 1950 until 1981, and was briefly affiliated withHeartland, which at launch utilized the trademark ofThe Nashville Network.[19][20] Gray announced their purchase of WSMV's parent company, theMeredith Corporation, on May 3, 2021, and the sale was completed on December 1, 2021.[21][22]
** Owned by a third party and operated by Gray under various operating agreements. *** Owned byTougaloo College and operated by American Spirit Media; Gray provides limited engineering support. **** Owned by Branson Visitors TV; Gray holds a 50.1% interest in this company.
