The Gospel Music Channel was founded in 2004 by Charles Humbard, the son of televangelistRex Humbard. It was devoted to gospel music. With Brad Siegel, former president of Turner Broadcasting's Turner Entertainment Networks, as vice chairman, Humbard launched GMC on October 30, 2004. Gospel Music Channel programmed gospel/Christian music, featuring all styles, including traditional and contemporary gospel, Christian rock and pop, southern gospel, and Christian metal. Each weeknight, the network's lineup featured a different genre of music. In addition to music video blocks, the network began to produce original shows, such as Faith and Fame, Front Row Live, and America Sings. The network aired Gospel and Christian music industry award shows, including The Stellar Awards and ''The GMA Dove Awards. The network was re-branded on June 1, 2013.
Programming
In the transition before the name-change, in 2010, the channel began carrying popular syndicated series such as Cosby, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, and The Waltons, along with Judging Amy. The channel also has aired films such as The Secret Garden, The Trial, and Pay It Forward, as well as Christian movies such as Facing the Giants, The Perfect Summer, and Fireproof. On Christmas Eve and Day, the network airs a Yule Log loop with holiday songs from Contemporary Christian artists. Similar to competing family networks such as INSP and Hallmark Channel, UP now programs multiple weeks of family-friendly Christmas movies through the holidays in December. Easter movies also populate the programming schedule through April. The channel continues to air popular syndicated series such as Gilmore Girls, America's Funniest Home Videos, Whose Line Is It Anyway, and Home Improvement. On December 3, 2014, Up announced its first original scripted series Ties That Bind, which was canceled after its first season. Ties That Bind starred Kelli Williams, Jonathan Scarfe, Dion Johnstone, Matreya Scarrwene, Rhys Matthew Bond, Natasha Calis, Mitchell Kummen and guest starsLuke Perry and Jason Priestly. Other original series include Bringing Up Bates and the Canadian import Heartland. Up original movies include Love Finds You in Sugarcreek, Ohio, The Town That Came A-Courtin', Finding Normal, My Mother's Future Husband, Raising Izzie, and Saving Westbrook High. Up original specials include K-LOVE Music City Christmas. On October 7, 2014, Up pulled their airings of repeats of the television drama7th Heaven, due to allegations of child molestation against the series lead actor, Stephen Collins. 7th Heaven briefly returned to Up in December 2014; however, it was quickly removed from the schedule. Up CEO Charley Humbard explained, "We brought the show back because many viewers expressed they could separate allegations against one actor from the fictional series itself. As it turns out, they cannot". In late May 2015, Up resumed weekday airings of two episodes of 7th Heaven, at 5–7 p.m. ET; by September 2015, marathon and daily airings of the series had resumed. In September 2015, the network acquired the rights to Gilmore Girls and began to air it in both daily and marathon forms of scheduling, including a full-series marathon on Thanksgiving week 2016 to lead into the series' Netflix revival. It also acquired the repeat rights to NBC's 2010 drama Parenthood a year after the demise of Viacom's NickMom, complementing Gilmore Girls, as both series starred actress Lauren Graham. In April 2016, the channel picked up the rerun rights to the Tom Bergeron era of America's Funniest Home Videos. In 2017, the network acquired rights to reruns of Nanny 911 and Whose Line Is It Anyway?, both the Drew Carey run of the past and the current run hosted by Aisha Tyler. Both versions carry content disclaimers depending on episode content. In May 2018, Up acquired reruns of Home Improvement; at around the same time, reruns of this show also began airing on the Viacom-owned cable network CMT, which at the had just suspended airing reruns of Roseanne. At around this same time, Up also quietly retired its “We Get Family” slogan on-air. In March 2019, Up acquired reruns of The Librarians; around the same time, they introduced a new emoji-based campaign and branding. In June 2019, Up acquired reruns of Reba, and premiered it on August 2, 2019. In the winter of 2019, after INSP lost the rights to Little House on the Prairie, this channel picked up the series and began airing episodes in sequence from the Pilot Movie onwards during several marathon airings in late December. In January the series settled in for its normal 4-episode block run from 8AM-Noon Eastern.
