Patrick Gottsch was a media executive who helped shine a spotlight on rural, western American life via RFD-TV and The Cowboy Channel, both of which he founded.
· Died: May 18, 2024 (Who else died on May 18?)
· Details of death: Died at Fort Worth Stockyards at the age of 70.
· We invite you to share condolences in Patrick Gottsch’s guest book.
Patrick Gottsch’s legacy
Born in Omaha, Nebraska and raised on a family farm, Patrick Gottsch did not initially follow in the family tradition, after being told by his father that there was no future in farming. Instead, Gottsch worked on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange before going into the satellite dish installation business. There, he learned that viewers in rural America felt underrepresented in the news, so Gottsch decided to fill that void.
He launched RFD-TV in 1988, but with little in the way of advertising dollars, it failed within a year. Gottsch did not give up. He relaunched in 2000, initially as a nonprofit, with a focus on agricultural news and other topics relevant to rural farmland communities. This time, thanks to shows like “Chris Cox Horsemanship,” “American Rancher” and “FarmHer,” the channel found an audience. Today, it is available to over 40% of U.S. households with a television.
In 2017, Gottsch launched The Cowboy Channel, with a focus on rodeo sports and horse riding. It was a full rebrand of a network that had begun life in the 1970s as the National Christian Network and later became FamilyNet. A sister channel, The Cowgirl Network, launched in 2023.
Gottsch also opened a music theater in Branson, Missouri, and launched Rural Radio on Sirius XM.
On creating a network devoted to rural life and agriculture:
“I thought, ‘Well, shoot, there’s nobody else going to do it, so why don’t I?’ I didn’t know any better, so I did.” —Money Magazine interview, 2008
Tributes to Patrick Gottsch
Full obituary: Legacy.com
