Paramount Network

Also known as Spike

American basic cable television channel

Key facts

Type: General entertainment cable network
Country: United States
Broadcast area: Nationwide
Headquarters: 5555 Melrose Avenue , Los Angeles , California, United States
Language: English
Picture format: 1080i HDTV
Owner: Paramount Media Networks ( Paramount Skydance Corporation )
Parent: MTV Entertainment Group
Key people: Chris McCarthy (President, Entertainment & Youth Brands, Paramount Media Networks) Tanya Giles ( GM ) Rob O’Neill ( SVP , Programming & Promotion Strategy) Debbie Beiter (Senior Vice President, Operations and Production)
Launched: March 7, 1983 ; 43 years ago ( 1983-03-07 )
Former names: The Nashville Network , (1983–2000), The National Network , (2000–2001), The New TNN , (2001–2003), Spike TV , (2003–2006), Spike , (2006–2018)

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Article

Paramount Network (formerly The Nashville Network, The National Network, The New TNN, and Spike TV (or simply Spike)) is an American cable television channel and the flagship property of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Skydance Corporation, who operates it through the MTV Entertainment Group. The network's headquarters are located at the Paramount Pictures studio lot in Los Angeles. The channel was originally founded by a partnership between radio station WSM and Westinghouse Broadcasting as The Nashville Network (TNN) and began broadcasting on March 7, 1983.

It initially featured programming catering towards the culture of the Southern United States, including country music, variety shows, outdoors programming, and motor racing coverage (such as NASCAR). TNN was purchased by the Gaylord Entertainment Company in 1983. After Gaylord bought CMT in 1991, TNN's music programming was shifted to CMT, leaving TNN to focus on entertainment and lifestyle programming.