The media landscape can feel like a minefield to parents who wish to shield their children from violent, inappropriate, or immoral content. One media company seems bent on changing that.
Cable network Great American Family describes itself as “America’s premier destination for quality family-friendly programming.” It has been the fastest-growing television network for the past 11 months. Its latest ratings jump was 182 percent in September.
Its parent company, Great American Media, is also home to Great American Living, which features unscripted content, and, with a merger completed in June, a streaming service: Great American PureFlix, offering content that’s “safe and clean for the whole family.”
The Epoch Times asked Great American Media CEO Bill Abbott about the new venture and the media landscape in general.
Bill Abbott, CEO of Great American Media. Great American Media
The Epoch Times: You’ve had a long career in the entertainment industry. Have you always wanted to work in television?
Bill Abbott: I was an English literature major in college, which basically means I had no clue regarding what I wanted to do after graduation but certainly liked the idea of being in the entertainment industry. The ironic part about the progression of my journey in the business is that it has intersected so perfectly with my education, where I learned to think critically about great storytelling, and can put these to use each day.
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The Epoch Times: Since beginning your career in the ’80s, what changes to the industry have you observed?
Mr. Abbott: From the time I began to work in family television with CBN in 1988 until today, the biggest change is in regard to decency—or the lack thereof. Advertisers actually had standards about the type of content their brand could be associated with, and this is no longer the case, leading to the decadence we see today on nearly every platform. What’s deemed to be acceptable on television now would never have been permitted back then, or even 10 years ago. We’re proud to uphold a standard at Great American Media that directly counters this lack of decency.
As the culture has changed, I’m convinced the majority of people are searching for a place where traditional values are honored and celebrated rather than ridiculed and demeaned. At Great American Media, we focus on creating a positive experience that celebrates faith, family, and country.
The Epoch Times: Increasingly, many parents are having a hard time finding entertainment they can feel good about enjoying with their families. What general standards does Great American Media hold its content to?
Mr. Abbott: Most of the television programming being produced is, frankly, not appropriate for families to watch together. We’re different. We look at our offerings through the lenses of faith, family, and hometown values, with a commitment to developing a high-quality experience.
We work hard to maintain high standards and scrutinize every area of our programming to ensure we remain a trusted source and wholesome destination for viewers.
The Epoch Times: What kind of response have you received from viewers regarding the clean content you’re producing? Do you see a great demand for this, even though the larger media companies seem to be going in a different direction?
Mr. Abbott: After the merger, we made this pledge to current and future members: Great American Pure Flix is committed to bringing you quality movies and programs that celebrate faith, family, and hometown values. With Great American Pure Flix, you can stream clean anytime, anywhere.
While it’s true that the major media companies are going in a different direction, this is only because the elitists on the coasts reward the edgiest, most shocking content creators with headlines and awards. Little consideration is given to what the viewer really wants to see, and we’re proud at Great American Media to be relentlessly focused on responding to feedback from our audience to make our platforms great for them. It doesn’t matter one bit what I like to watch or what the team here at the company would choose to watch—it’s all about what our viewers want to watch! And the demand for platforms with this strategy is huge.
Our viewers also love our Christmas programs. I am so proud to announce that we have 20 new titles this year! We’re now showing Christmas content 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with new premieres every single weekend. Families know they can celebrate the season with us because we’re providing them with quality content that lifts their spirits and can be enjoyed together.
The Epoch Times: What made you decide to merge with Pure Flix for your streaming service?
Mr. Abbott: Both Pure Flix and Great American Media share the same DNA and cater to the underserved viewer searching for family-friendly, faith-based content. This merger makes perfect sense and brings together quality storytelling and complementary platforms.
Viewers are obviously utilizing streaming services to watch movies and programs. While linear TV still has a long runway and Great American Media is committed to this business, viewers’ ability to stream whatever they want, whenever they want, has changed the entertainment landscape. Merging with Sony’s streaming service to create Great American Pure Flix was the perfect opportunity to extend our brand in this space, and it gives us a great opportunity to continue to build a platform-strategic initiative to become a key player in the streaming business.
The Epoch Times: What’s your vision for the future of the streaming service as well as the television channels?
Mr. Abbott: We’re excited about the future of Great American Media. Great American Family has been the fastest-growing linear channel for 11 consecutive months, and the founders of Pure Flix were true visionaries and leaders in the streaming space, starting the platform long before streaming was on most people’s radar. Great American Pure Flix is the standard-bearer for faith-and-family clean streaming, while our linear platform will represent the best in faith and family content on television. And we’ve just announced a new linear channel: Great American Faith & Living, which will complement both services. Our channels Great American Adventures and Pure Flix round out a portfolio poised to be the leader in quality faith-and-family entertainment.
The Epoch Times: What motivates you to continue the work you do?
Mr. Abbott: The underserved audience, whom we hear from daily, deserves programming that meets their sensibilities and expectations. We’re on a mission to deliver quality content to them on a consistent basis and, at the same time, contribute positively to the entertainment culture with every movie and program we offer.
