The company was announced on June 7, 2021, through its acquisition of the cable networks
Great American Country and
Ride TV from
Discovery, Inc. and Ride Television Network, Inc. respectively. The company is led by private equity investor
Tom Hicks, and
Bill Abbott—who formerly served as CEO of
Crown Media Holdings. After taking over the channels, they were rebranded as the "Great American Channels", with GAC itself being relaunched as GAC Family and taking on a
family-friendly entertainment format not unlike Abbott's former employer
Hallmark Channel, and Ride TV becoming
GAC Living. GAC Family would emulate many of Abbott's programming decisions at Hallmark Channel, including a focus on original television films and holiday-themed content. It also signed deals with various actors associated with Hallmark Channel productions. During its upfronts, Abbott stated that the company planned to expand into
over-the-top content ventures, with plans for a lifestyle-based
free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channel known as Great American Adventures, and a "fan portal". In July 2022, GAC Media launched Great American Adventures on
Xumo, which carries lifestyle and entertainment programming oriented towards "
Americana". Later that month, GAC Media announced that it would change its trade name to Great American Media, as part of a corporate rebranding that also saw GAC Family and Living renamed Great American Family and Great American Living respectively on August 20, 2022. GAC Media will remain the company's legal name. In May 2023,
Pure Flix —a
Sony Pictures-owned streaming service for faith-based content—announced that it would merge with Great American Media. Terms of the proposed merger were not disclosed, but GAC Media would hold a controlling stake in the new entity, with Abbott as CEO. In February 2024, the company signed a multi-film deal with actor
Mario Lopez. In 2024, the company re-located its headquarters from
Fort Worth to
Arlington. == Assets ==