Gottsch Family Letter to RFD-TV Viewers,
As we share this message with all of you today, we’re filled with deep appreciation for each of you and everything we’ve built together over the years. Rural Media Group is more than just a company of networks—it’s a family that champions agriculture, the rural lifestyle, Western sports, and the values that make our way of life so special. Today is a historic day for Rural Media Group as we officially announced the sale of The Cowboy Channel and The Cowgirl Channel to Teton Ridge.
The Cowboy Channel began as a dream, inspired by a passion for Western sports and a commitment to ensure that rodeo, rural America’s favorite sport, receives equal airtime as all other major sports in this country. In just over 7 years, the network has revolutionized Western sports, reaching millions of homes and connecting people across the country daily to the Western way of life. As you all know, our dad first founded The Cowboy Channel as he saw early on the potential of a television network dedicated 24/7 to Western sports. After a few years of getting to know the Teton Ridge team and seeing their commitment to Western sports after their purchase of The American Rodeo in 2021, earlier this year Patrick signed an agreement to sell The Cowboy Channel and The Cowgirl Channel to Teton Ridge. And over the last 6 months, we have been working together to make sure that this transaction sets us all up for continued success in not only the near future but long term.
For Rural Media Group, this sale allows us to strategically refresh and focus on our flagship network, RFD-TV, as it approaches its 25th anniversary, with the goal to expand our presence across multiple platforms. We will now be able to strengthen our programming and dig deeper into our core mission to reconnect city with country, bringing stories of agriculture, rural life, conservation, and land stewardship to more people than ever before along with an expansion in music and entertainment, as Rural Media Group will continue operating the Auction Barn Studio in the historic Fort Worth Stockyards in addition to its studios on Music Row in Nashville, Tennessee. This sale is about growth and investing in RFD-TV, RFD-TV Now, Rural Radio on Sirius XM 147 and FarmHER + RanchHER, growing our presence in the rural media space to tell even more stories about America’s heartland and beyond.
This marks a new chapter, one that we couldn’t have reached without our loyal audience. Our vision is to reach viewers on every platform, telling stories about rural resilience, sustainability, and the traditions that bind our communities. We will continue to honor the history and values we’ve built with programming that celebrates and elevates rural America. We are incredibly grateful for all we’ve accomplished over the last 25 years and look forward to the journey ahead as we continue to honor and expand our family’s legacy in rural media. We’re excited to begin sharing plans in the coming months as we refocus and expand the network.
With deepest appreciation to each and every one of you, thank you on behalf of the Gottsch family.
Sincerely,
Raquel Gottsch Koehler and Gatsby Gottsch Solheim
Rural Media Group
