What is a Fort Worth-based film and television company’s main focus? Faith and family
A Fort Worth-based media company always has three objectives when producing its own movies and television: faith, family and country.
It’s been about three years since Great American Media was founded in Fort Worth by Bill Abbott, former president and CEO of Crown Media Family Networks. The goal was to create a new place for family-friendly content in the crowded media landscape.
While Great American Media is still in its infancy, Abbott says the company has grown exponentially not only in viewership but in the talent it attracts. The company counts actor/host Mario Lopez and actors Alexa and Carlos PenaVega as key collaborators.
It’s all about producing family-friendly content over at Great American Media, which Abbott understands is “different” from the typical entertainment company output.
“Offering something nobody else offers is really what our goal and mission is,” Abbott told the Star-Telegram. “We believe it in very much and the success is following.”
Great American Media makes Fort Worth home
Great American Media’s content may reach across the nation, but its headquarters are located in Fort Worth.
After founding the company in 2021, Abbott and a group of Dallas-based investors acquired the Fort Worth-based Ride TV cable and streaming network. As the name suggests, Ride TV was a network focused on equestrian sports and culture that held offices in Cowtown at 2001 Beach St.
Great American Media launched several networks in the years since, including Great American Family, Great American Faith & Living and Great American Adventures. In total, the company’s networks can be accessed in 50 million homes via cable and satellite providers.
But the company’s biggest move to date was merging Sony Pictures Television’s streaming service Pure Flix into its repertoire in June 2023. The streamer is now called Great American Pure Flix and has over 1 million subscribers.
A year into the merger, Abbott said the move was huge for the company not only in its viewership but in expanding its breadth of content.
“Across the board, it’s been a win-win for everyone,” Abbott said. “It’s an exciting time as we grow our footprint and become a leader in the space.”
Great American Pure Flix now streaming
Merging with Sony on Pure Flix wasn’t on Great American Media’s radar until the company reached out about the opportunity.
Last summer, Abbott said Great American Media was becoming profitable and had built its brand on linear networks. It was then that Sony contacted Great American Media about possibly merging to expand the family-friendly content into the streaming space.
The deal made sense for both companies, and $100 million later, an agreement was made.
“We now can promote streaming on linear and linear on streaming,” Abbott said. “It’s a great marriage and one that is bearing well for all of us.”
About six months after the merger was complete, Deadline Hollywood reported that Great American Media was undergoing layoffs to kickoff 2024.
Abbott said the layoffs were for duplicate positions in the marketing and administrative departments, which existed between both companies.
“Merging organizations, again, it’s not for the faint of heart,” Abbott said. “But at the same time, you find a lot of talent, and a lot of people that you enjoy working with as you go through that process.”
Great American Media hoping to give Texas its closeup
While Great American Media is based in Fort Worth, a majority of its content is filmed elsewhere.
Production mostly takes place in Nashville, Canada and other locations, Abbott said. This year alone, the company is producing four series and around 40 movies across all its networks.
The company does hope it can give Texas its closeup soon, Abbott said. If funding for the state’s production tax incentives keeps increasing, Great American Media would like to do business in the Lone Star State.
Like many states, Texas offers tax incentives such as cash grants for productions that film in state. In June 2023, state lawmakers passed bills to push production incentives to an all-time high of $200 million.
“Texas is number one on our wish list and radar,” Abbott said.
Great American Media does still produce content in Fort Worth.
All of the company’s promotional and intersectional material for its networks are filmed in its Cowtown offices, Abbott said. Over 30 employees work out of Fort Worth, including those in human resources, administration and production.
Abbott said the company has only been at it for three years and has found its audience. The plan moving forward is to keep at it.
“You can watch our service at any time with any member of the family,” Abbott said. “It’s that focus on being consistent and being supportive of faith, family, and country, and having that overall point of view of producing high-quality content.”
This story was originally published July 13, 2024 at 7:00 AM.
