Born and raised in Elkhorn, Nebraska, Patrick Gottsch grew up on his family’s farm and cattle-feeding operation, where he learned first-hand the importance that rural America plays in the everyday lives of Americans.
After attending college at Sam Houston State University in Texas, he moved to Chicago in 1977 and worked as a commodity broker on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange until 1982. Patrick then returned to his home state of Nebraska, where he started E.T. Installations, a company that sold and installed C-band home satellites. Working with Birdview Satellite Broadcast and Communication Association (SBCA), E.T. Installations introduced over 2,000 satellites into the Midwest and was recognized as the nation’s largest privately-owned home satellite retailer in 1987.
In March 1991, Patrick moved to Fort Worth, Texas, and served as the Director of Sales for Superior Livestock Auction from 1992 to 1996. Superior Livestock Auction was the first to introduce satellite video marketing to the livestock industry and has since grown to become the largest livestock auction enterprise in the United States.
Pulling all these experiences together, Patrick decided to dedicate himself full-time to creating a 24-hour rural television network. In December 2000, Rural Free Delivery Television (RFD-TV) was successfully launched on DISH Network. Distribution of this one-of-a-kind station expanded to DIRECTV in March 2002, with all major cable agreements quickly following, including Mediacom, Charter, Optimum, Suddenlink, Comcast, AT&T/U-verse, Time Warner Cable, Bright House, and Cox. Today, RFD-TV is available in more than 50 million homes nationwide. Rural Media Group, Inc. has since expanded to include RFD-TV The Magazine (2003), RFD HD (2008), RURAL TV (2009), RURAL RADIO (2013) on SiriusXM Channel 147, and most recently The Cowboy Channel (2017).
In 2017 Patrick launched The Cowboy Channel, the first 24-hour network totally dedicated to western sports and the western lifestyle. Headquartered in the Fort Worth Stockyards, with a state-of-the-art television studio, The Cowboy Channel features a wide variety of “live” coverage from major western events and rodeos all across the country, showcasing the world’s toughest and most talented cowboys and cowgirls. The Cowboy Channel has distribution in 42 million homes through its cable and satellite partners. In May of 2020, The Cowboy Channel launched its OTT streaming platform, Cowboy Channel+, giving fans the ability to watch rodeos anywhere and at any time of the day.
Patrick married Angie in October of 2017, and together, they have a beautiful daughter Rose. Patrick currently lives in his hometown of Elkhorn, where his brother continues to raise corn and soybeans. Patrick has three daughters: Raquel, Gatsby, and Rose. Raquel currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer for The Cowboy Channel, and Gatsby serves as General Counsel for Rural Media Group.
