FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SOUTHERN LIVING COLLABORATES WITHGREAT AMERICAN COUNTRY
ON HOUR-LONGTAILGATING SPECIAL
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‘The Southern Living Tailgating Playbook’
Premieres Thursday, September 27 at 10 p.m. EST
Reairs Wednesday, October 17 at 8 p.m. EST
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Southern Living Test Kitchen Director Rebecca Kracke Gordon Stars in the Show
New York, NY and Knoxville, TN – (September 26, 2012) – Southern Living and the Great American Country channel are teaming up to produce “The Southern Living Tailgating Playbook,” an hour-long TV special to air on Great American Country on Thursday, September 27th at 10 p.m. EST. It will reair many times throughout the fall football season including Wednesday, October 17th at 8 p.m. EST.
This September, Great American Country captured interviews and footage of tailgating traditions on the Quad at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, AL during a game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, and at the Grove at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, MS during a game between Ole Miss and the University of Texas Longhorns. The show stars Great American Country’s Nan Kelley, who hails from Mississippi, and Southern Living Test Kitchen Director Rebecca Kracke Gordon, a self-proclaimed Crimson Tide fan, who also writes a blog on tailgating.
"Our collaboration with Great American Country brings to life the passion and pageantry of tailgating in the South," said Southern Living Editor Lindsay Bierman. "It allows millions of fans at home to go behind the scenes to experience the fun and excitement of game day on and around campus.”
This TV special rounds out the Southern Living brand’s extensive coverage of tailgating in the South. In the September issue, Southern Living featured many game day recipes and entertaining ideas. The brandalso launched a consumer voting-driven contest among the Top 20 Southern schools as named by Southern Living with the tailgating celebrations. The winner will be announced on October 1st.
Southern Living also partnered with the Southeastern Conference for the first-time this year and introduced The Official SEC Tailgating Cookbook featuring special drinks for each SEC team, game day recipes tested by the Southern Living Test Kitchen and much more.
“We are very excited to work with Southern Living in developing and producing this fun and unique special,” said Ed Hardy, President, Great American Country. "Tailgating seems like the perfect starting point for collaborating with Southern Living on programming content.”
Media Contacts:Jennifer Zawadzinski, Southern Living, 212-522-9046 or
Megan Levinson, Southern Living, 212-522-3773 or
Ronna Rubin, Rubin Media, 615-298-4400 or
Lee Hall, Scripps Networks, 865-560-3853 or
About Southern Living
Southern Living celebrates the essence of life in the South, covering the best in Southern food, home, garden, and travel. Reaching more than 16 million consumers each month, Southern Living connects consumers with the region’s rich culture through a variety of print, digital, mobile, tablet and event platforms. Headquartered in Birmingham, AL, the rapidly expanding Southern Living brand is part of Time Inc., one of the largest content companies in the world and the largest publisher in the United States. Time Inc. is a Time Warner company.
About Great American Country (GAC)
Great American Country is the leader in country music entertainment, and delivers to viewers the widest variety of country music, its artists and the lifestyles they influence. GAC broadcasts original country music programming, music performance specials, live concerts and music videos. GAC is available in more than 62 million households and online at
GAC is owned by Scripps Networks Interactive, the leading developer of lifestyle-oriented content for television and the Internet, including HGTV, DIY Network, Food Network, Cooking Channel and Travel Channel. Scripps Networks is based in Knoxville, Tenn., with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit, Atlanta, Chevy Chase, Md. and Nashville, and is a unit of Scripps Networks Interactive (NYSE:SNI). Media can log on to the Scripps Networks Online Media Center () for the latest brand news, useful photos and graphics, detailed programming information, contacts and current research.
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