Spike gets spiked
I’m always amused when a network “rebrands.” While some networks (say Lifetime and Hallmark) are pretty good at maintaining a consistent identity, others tend to shapeshift over the years. Remember when ABC Family changed its name to Freeform? The ID Network currently offers a steady diet of true-crime, re-enactment-heavy docuseries. But over the years, it has changed from Discovery Civilization (Imagine that!) to Discovery Times (in partnership with the New York Times) to its current lurid tabloid tone.
Today marks the launch of the Paramount Network. That’s the new name of Spike. Before Spike was called Spike, it was called “The N.” And before that it was “The National Network.” And before that, The Nashville Network.
All this name-changing began because Madison Avenue believed that “Nashville” was too “country.” Oddly enough, the whole country has become more “country” in the years that the network has been shedding its skin(s).
At one point, one of cable’s most popular series was “Duck Dynasty,” about as country as you can get. Roughly 9,000 shows have been set in Alaska, and that’s just on Discovery. A show called “Nashville” was good enough for ABC, even though “Nashville” was too Nashville for Spike, or whatever it was called at the time.
Through all its name changes, the network never really formed an identity. While Spike was supposed to exude a guy-friendly (or is that dude-friendly?) attitude, none of its manly man series ever caught fire.
Then NBC made the poor decision to pass on “Lip-Sync Battle” (9 p.m., Paramount, TV-PG). That karaoke competition series was Spike’s one and only hit. But while “Battle” was pitch perfect for television, nobody could pretend that “Battle” fit in with Spike’s testosterone-fueled identity. So, a name change was in order.
A special live Michael Jackson-themed “Battle” featuring Neil Patrick Harris, Taraji P. Henson and Hailee Steinfeld marks the official birth of the Paramount Network.
Just don’t get too used to the name. Contact Kevin McDonough at kevin. tvguy@gmail.com.