in full. The network stated that it wanted to emphasize its expansion from a country music-oriented channel to one with a larger emphasis on "country" as referring to a "sense of place" and lifestyles (citing programming such as Celebrity Motor Homes and Farm Kings as examples). With the channel's rebranding, the daily music video show Daily Countdown was renamed Great American Playlist. Top 20 Country Countdown continued to air (it was cancelled in December 2018), and the network still offered country music specials including Backstory, Introducing and Origins. In March 2018, Discovery Inc. acquired Scripps Networks Interactive. As GAC Family/Great American Family On June 7, 2021, GAC Media, a Fort Worth-based investment group led by private equity investor Tom Hicks and former Crown Media Holdings CEO Bill Abbott announced that it would acquire Great American Country from Discovery Inc.; the company had recently announced its intent to merge with WarnerMedia. GAC Media would also acquire the equestrian network Ride TV. Abbott had abruptly stepped down from Crown Media in January 2020, shortly after Hallmark Channel was criticized for pulling commercials from the wedding registry Zola that included a lesbian couple. In August 2021, GAC Media announced that it would relaunch Great American Country as GAC Family on September 27, with the GAC initials re-backronymed to stand for "Great American Channels"; The channel was repositioned as a family-oriented general entertainment service with similarities to Hallmark Channel, which Abbot had previously overseen as Crown Media CEO. The previous country lifestyle format was assumed by Ride TV, which concurrently rebranded as the sister channel GAC Living. GAC Family would mirror many of the programming strategies that Abbott developed while overseeing Hallmark Channel, including original made-for-TV movies and holiday programming. In the months following its launch, GAC Media signed contracts with talent associated with Hallmark Channel productions, including Trevor Donovan, Jen Lilley, Jessica Lowndes, Jesse Metcalfe, and Danica McKellar, to appear in GAC Family original movies. Former Home & Family hosts Debbie Matenopoulos and Cameron Mathison hosted a preview special for GAC Family's inaugural "Great American Christmas" film lineup. On April 19, 2022, it was announced that GAC Media had hired Candace Cameron Bure—who had a long-standing relationship with Hallmark Channel dating back to 2008—as its chief content officer, and that she would develop, produce and star in original romantic comedies and holiday content for its networks. During GAC Media's first upfronts presentation in