With family-friendly and faith content increasingly making a more significant splash in TV, theaters, and streaming platforms, Bill Abbott, president and CEO of Great American Media, is enthusiastic about the future of entertainment, and he has many reasons to be excited.
Great American Family has consistently been the fastest-growing channel on cable, and Abbott recently took over as head of Great American Pure Flix, the streaming platform formerly known as Pure Flix, after a highly publicized merger. Abbott, who previously headed the Hallmark Channel, recently told CBN’s “Quick Start” podcast, “It’s been a great journey, and we’ve had a lot of success so far.”
Great American Media’s properties offer clean, family-friendly content millions of Americans crave and have been left wanting, with Hollywood creating a plethora of TV shows and movies that relish in sex, violence, and other objectionable content. Abbott was honest when asked why he thinks the family-friendly audience has been overlooked for so long. He said, “It’s because, quite frankly, the coastal elites have a different sensibility. What is rewarded in Hollywood is being shocked and pushing the envelope as far as possible.”
Unfortunately, Abbott said the emphasis is too often on engaging in these antics to get attention or win awards, but he said many Americans want to see more informational content. He said, “I think the majority of the country is looking for something quite different. And you look at the awards show ratings, for example, and how far down they have been over the years, and it’s because they’ve totally gone off the rails in terms of what the offering is, and it’s out of touch with the sensibility of the majority of the country.”
He called it a “privilege” to create content so many Americans sincerely want to watch. Great American Family recently announced a massive Christmas movie lineup, with actress Candace Cameron Bure serving as a prime network voice, elevating the scope of work. And over on the streaming side, Great American Pure Flix is focusing on a different aspect of celebration each week, ranging from “Getting in the Spirit” to “Celebrate Christmas Miracles,” all culminating with “Celebrate Keeping Christ in Christmas.”
Abbott said he wants the cable channel and streamer to be a “quality, go-to destination” for years to come. “We really want — more than anything — to be a bright light in the world,” he said. “To positively impact the culture, to be that place that people can come home to and watch and just feel good.”