Caroline Mohr Sunshine (born September 5, 1995) is an American press secretary and former television actress, who previously worked as a White House Representative staffer during the Donald Trump administration in 2018.

As an actress, she is best known for her co-starring role as flashy, rude European exchange student Tinka Hessenheffer on the Disney Channel series Shake It Up. Sunshine has also appeared in the feature film Marmaduke (2010), the documentary Behind The Scenes (2012), and the direct-to-video film The Outfield (2015).

Early life
Caroline Sunshine was born on September 5, 1995, in Atlanta, Georgia, to parents Thom and Karen Sunshine.  She was raised in Orange County, California, and has two younger brothers, Johnny and Christopher.  Sunshine began studying ballet at the age of 3 and landed her first lead role playing Goldilocks in a kindergarten play. She later moved on to acting with the Orange County Children's Theater and dancing competitively with the South Coast Performing Arts studio in Tustin, California.

Career

Acting

In 2004 Sunshine started in theater and her stage credits include Annie Warbucks at the Orange County Children's Theatre, The Nutcracker at the Academy of Dance and South Coast Performing Arts, and Stage Door at the Lutheran High School of Orange County. In 2006, Sunshine began going to professional auditions at the age of 11, and landed her first role in a commercial for Amazing Allysen the talking doll, as well as commercial work for Yoplait Go-Gurt, and Cap'n Crunch.  In 2010, Sunshine filmed her first pilot for the CBS sitcom, Team Spitz, co-starring as the teenage daughter of a high school coach played by Rob Riggle.  In the summer of that same year, she gained popular notoriety for her role as Barbara Winslow in her first feature film, Marmaduke, based on the comic strip of the same name.

In the fall of 2010, Sunshine landed what would become her most famous role as a co-star on the Disney Channel original series, Shake It Up  as European exchange student, Tinka Hessenheffer alongside Kenton Duty as her flamboyant twin brother, Gunther Hessenheffer.  The glitzy brother/sister duo of Gunther and Tinka is said to be inspired by Ryan and Sharpay Evans of Disney's High School Musical franchise. She was a recurring cast member during the first season, but was promoted to a regular character for the second and third seasons. The series ended in November 2013.  Sunshine appeared on the Disney Channel Christmas album Holidays Unwrapped; her cover version of "All I Want for Christmas Is You" was featured as the tenth song on the album.

In June 2014 she filmed a Freeform pilot called Recovery Road based on  Blake Nelson's novel of the same name, in which she plays a title role alongside Samantha Logan. Neither Sunshine nor Logan would appear in the actual series, however. Logan was replaced by Jessica Sula and Sunshine's character was removed from the script. During 2015 Sunshine appeared in a TV Movie called Go Four Broke as Tiffani Brand. And earlier she appeared in the big screen production of The Outfield.

Activism
In February 2011, Sunshine became the spokesmodel for the teen fragrance "Puppy Love 4 Girlz". "Puppy Love" Fragrances is committed to helping homeless dogs and puppies, with a portion of all proceeds of the perfume going to local animal shelters. In May 2011, Sunshine was named one of Dream Magazine's "Top 16 Under 16".

In addition to her work with "Puppy Love", Sunshine is involved in several other charitable causes including the "Joyful Sewing Organization," which makes blankets for cancer patients, "Working Wardrobes," which provides assistance to underprivileged women and victims of domestic abuse, the Orange County Child Abuse Prevention Center, which offers in-home parenting classes to families to break the generational cycle of abuse, the "Adopt A Hero" program, which provides for the needs of soldiers and their families; the "Loaves and Fishes Ministry" which helps to feed the homeless, and the "Thirst Project," which is dedicated to providing clean drinking water to communities in developing nations.

Politics
Sunshine got involved in politics as a White House intern during the Trump Administration in January 2018, receiving a full-time job as a press assistant by mid-March 2018. Prior to this role, Sunshine had interned for the office of Kevin McCarthy, then the House Majority Leader; the College Republican National Committee; and the California Republican Party. In February 2023, Sunshine became the press secretary and communications director for Eric Doden, a gubernatorial candidate for Indiana governor.

Personal life
Sunshine began dating Matt Stumme in 2013; the pair went to high school and college together. Sunshine is a graduate of Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, California, and Orange Lutheran High School in Orange, California.

Filmography

Stage

Discography

Promotional singles

Other appearances

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

External links

1995 births
21st-century American actresses
Actors from Orange County, California
Actresses from Atlanta
Actresses from California
American child actresses
American film actresses
American television actresses
California Republicans
Claremont McKenna College alumni
Georgia (U.S. state) Republicans
Living people
Trump administration personnel

Caroline Sunshine


The 1982 Munster Senior Hurling Championship final was a hurling match played at Semple Stadium on 18 July 1982 to determine the winners of the 1982 Munster Senior Hurling Championship, the 95th season of the Munster Senior Club Hurling Championship, a tournament organised by the Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The final was contested by Cork and Waterford, with Cork winning by 5-31 to 3-6.

The Munster final between Cork and Waterford was the 9th Munster final meeting between the two teams. Cork were hoping for their 39th Munster title and their first win since 1979. Waterford were hoping for their 6th Munster title and their first win since 1963.

References

1981 in hurling
Munster Senior Hurling Championship finals
Cork county hurling team matches
Waterford county hurling team matches


The Gugulethu Seven was an anti-apartheid group of men between the ages of 16 and 23 that were shot and killed on 3 March 1986 by members of the South African Police force. The seven men included Mandla Simon Mxinwa, Zanisile Zenith Mjobo, Zola Alfred Swelani, Godfrey Jabulani Miya, Christopher Piet, Themba Mlifi and Zabonke John Konile. It was later uncovered that the police operation that unearthed the Gugulethu Seven's plans had been in the works for some time.

Prelude
In the mid 1970s and 80's, there was a rise in Umkhonto we Sizwe or MK operatives, the 1961-founded, armed wing of the ANC. In response, General Griebenouw of the Western Cape Security called upon Brigadier Schoon of the Security Branch Headquarters in Pretoria as well as the assistance of the Vlakplaas, a government death squad. Vlakplaas commander, Eugene de Kock chose Rian Bellingan to lead an operative team ordered to intervene with anti-apartheid operations. The men chosen as part of the team were Thapelo Johannes Mbelo, Joe Coetzer, and other Vlakplaas askaris like Gladstone Moss, Eric 'Shakes' Maluleke and Jimmy Mbane.

The operative team was based in Koeberg and in early January 1986, drove into Cape Town aboard three vehicles; one was a minibus with weapons and explosives concealed inside. After failed attempts to infiltrate Mbelo into the Gugulethu Seven, Mbane and Maluleke were sent in.

Mbane and Maluleke, who reported to Bellingan and Liebenberg, were successful at slipping in and gaining the trust of the Gugulethu Seven over time. At first they were given weapons and grenades and went to the home of Yamile (the squatter leader). There, they told Yamile that they were commanders from exile and showed him their weapons in the minibus. Yamile then introduced Mbane and Maluleke to Piet, a member and the supposed leader of the Gugulethu Seven. It is said that Mbane and Maluleke even helped fix Piet's faulty AK-47 at one point.

Over the next two months, Mbane trained the youth in basic military combat while Maluleke gave them a political education; Piet seemed to be the only youth that had previous combat training. Mbane and Maluleke also had the youth write their own biographies, which was a standard practice in liberation movements. It was later discovered that Mbane gave those to Bellingan.

Eventually, an attack was planned for 3 March that would target a police bus that took senior policemen to Gugulethu station every morning. Mbane told Bellingan and Liebenberg this, who prepared for the event.

Incident
On 3 March 1986, 25 heavily armed police were briefed and deployed at Wingfield Naval Base at 3 a.m. The intended target area was surrounded and occupied by police by 5 a.m. Mbane, driving a stolen bakery van, dropped the seven youth off at the site around 7:25 a.m. Allegedly, grenades were thrown by the Gugulethu Seven and the police started firing from all sides. Reports say that Piet was the only one who had time to fire back. The police officers at the scene included: Warrant Officers Barnard and McMaster, Majors Johan Kleyn, Dolf Odendal, and Stephanus Brits, Captain Charles Brazzelle, Sergeants John Sterrenberg, Andre Grobbellar and Rian Bellingan, and Constable Thapelo Mbelo.

For their help in exposing and leading the Gugulethu Seven into fire, Mbane and Maluleke were given ZAR7000 - one thousand for each victim.

It was later reported that Piet suffered 12 bullet wounds to his head.

Aftermath & Mother's Testimony
Piet and the Gugulethu Seven's deaths led to an inquest in 1986, and a trial in 1987, which later reopened in 1989. The findings by Wynberg magistrate, Mr. Hoffman, were that the seven men had died in a legitimate anti-terrorist operation. In her 27 November 1996 Truth and Reconciliation Commission Gross Human Rights Violations testimony, Piet's mother Cynthia Nomveyu Ngewu said the trials in court were dissatisfying and she couldn't understand the language being spoken; the proceedings were in Afrikaans.

Ngewu said she had to see her dead son being dragged with a rope around his waist, broadcast on television. The police told her that her son had shot at the police and they later came by her home to look for weapons. Ngewu later expressed her forgiveness and reconciliatory beliefs in regards to her son's killing:

"We do not want to return the evil that perpetrators committed to the nation. We want to demonstrate humanness towards them, so that they in turn may restore their own humanity".

The South African Police that applied for amnesty for the killings were Rian Bellingan, Thapelo Mbelo, and Xola Frank 'Jimmy' Mbane. They received the amnesty.

Memorial
On 21 March 2005, Human Rights Day in South Africa, a monument was erected in Gugulethu honoring the lives of the Gugulethu Seven. It is outside the Gugulethu police station on the corner of NY1 and NY111 right near where the Seven, including Christopher 'Rasta' Piet, were shot.

Movie
In 2000, a film of the events surrounding the Gugulethu Seven, directed by Lindy Wilson, was released.

See also
 Gugulethu

References

External links

 Community Video Education Trust. Gugulethu Seven funeral march and ceremony [2013, April 29].
 MacLean, I.S. 2006. Reconciliation: Nations and Churches in Latin America. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.
 info.gov.za
 doj.gov.za
 imdb.com
 capetown.dj

South African murder victims
People murdered in South Africa
Extrajudicial killings in South Africa
Killings by law enforcement officers in South Africa

Gugulethu Seven


Wild About Harry is a 2000 British comedy film directed by Declan Lowney and written by Colin Bateman. The film stars Brendan Gleeson, Amanda Donohoe, James Nesbitt, Adrian Dunbar, Bronagh Gallagher and Ruth McCabe. The film was released on 26 October 2001 by United International Pictures.

Plot
Harry McKee is a successful television chef for a regional broadcaster. Although he has been in the newspapers a lot because of his alcoholic chap, he is very popular with viewers. In his private life, however, things look different for him: his wife Ruth, whom he has betrayed several times, wants to divorce him. Somewhat emotionally agitated, he exposes local politician Walter Adair in his cooking show by making fun of his sexual preferences. Harry collapses in the ensuing court case, in which the details of his divorce are to be clarified.

When he wakes up after a few days in a coma, Harry suffers from amnesia. The last 25 years seem to have been erased from his memory. He is now in the same hospital as the politician Adair, who has had to seek treatment since fleeing from intrusive journalists and falling from a bridge.

Although Harry's wife and children do not really want to believe him and consider amnesia to be a ploy to delay the divorce, they take him back home. Using old photo albums, they try to refresh his memory. On the advice of the doctors, however, they hide his TV cooking career from him.

However, he is informed about this by his friend and lawyer. He also learns from him that his wife wants to divorce him. Although Harry's complete memory has not yet come back, his unit manager urges him to get back to the cooking shows. During the first show a viewer suddenly disrupts the process. It is Walter Adair, disguised as a woman, who draws a gun and threatens Harry. The program will then also go live on national channels. The meanwhile refined cook wants to give himself up to his fate when suddenly Ruth appears. After she succeeds in disarming Adair, she promises Harry to make up with him again. However, she insists on the divorce and challenges him to reconsider his life. Only when he was absolutely sure that he wanted a future together with her should he contact her again. Harry predicts that he will contact her the same day and ends - as if nothing had happened - his cooking show by announcing the guests of the next show.

Cast
Brendan Gleeson as Harry McKee
Amanda Donohoe as Ruth McKee
James Nesbitt as Walter Adair
Adrian Dunbar as J.J. MacMahon
Bronagh Gallagher as Miss Boyle
Ruth McCabe as Lily
Doon Mackichan as Tara Adair
Paul Barber as Prof. Simmington
George Wendt as Frankie
Henry Deazley as Billy McKee
Billy Donnelly as Brendan
Philip Young as Robbie
Pat Shortt as Ronnie
Tara Lynne O'Neill as Claire McKee
Frank Carson as Tommy Trainor
Julian Simmons as Michael Bay
Dick Holland as Patrick Fitzpatrick
Kieran Grimes as Mark

References

External links

2000 films
2000 directorial debut films
English-language German films
English-language Irish films
British comedy films
Irish comedy films
German comedy films
2000 comedy films
BBC Film films
Films directed by Declan Lowney
2000s English-language films
2000s British films
2000s German films

Wild About Harry (2000 film)


A golf ball is a special ball designed to be used in the game of golf.

Under the rules of golf, a golf ball has a mass no more than , has a diameter not less than , and performs within specified velocity, distance, and symmetry limits. Like golf clubs, golf balls are subject to testing and approval by The R&A (formerly part of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews) and the United States Golf Association, and those that do not conform with regulations may not be used in competitions (Rule 5–1).

History

Early balls
It is commonly believed that hard wooden, round balls, made from hardwoods such as beech and box, were used for golf from the 14th through the 17th centuries.
Though wooden balls were no doubt used for other similar contemporary stick and ball games, there is no definite evidence that they were actually used in golf in Scotland. It is equally, if not more likely, that leather balls filled with cows' hair were used, imported from the Netherlands from at least 1486 onward.

Featherie

Then or later, the featherie ball was developed and introduced. A featherie, or feathery, is a hand-sewn round leather pouch stuffed with chicken or goose feathers and coated with paint, usually white in color. A standard featherie used a gentleman's top hat full of feathers. The feathers were boiled and softened before they were stuffed into the leather pouch. Making a featherie was a tedious and time-consuming process. An experienced ball maker could only make a few balls in one day, so they were expensive. A single ball would cost , which is equivalent to US$10–20 today.

There were a few drawbacks to the featherie. Second, it was difficult to make a perfectly spherical ball, so the featherie often flew irregularly. First, when the featherie became too wet, its distance would be reduced, and there was a possibility of its splitting open upon impact, both when hit or when contacting the ground or another hard surface. Despite these drawbacks, the featherie was a dramatic improvement over the wooden ball, and remained the standard golf ball well into the 19th century.

Guttie

In 1848, the Rev. Dr. Robert Adams Paterson (sometimes spelled Patterson) invented the gutta-percha ball (or guttie, gutty). The guttie was made from dried sap of the Malaysian sapodilla tree. The sap had a rubber-like feel and could be made spherical by heating and shaping it in a mold. Because gutties were cheaper to produce, could be re-formed if they became out-of-round or damaged, and had improved aerodynamic qualities, they soon became the preferred ball for use.

Accidentally, it was discovered that nicks in the guttie from normal use actually provided a ball with a more consistent ball flight than a guttie with a perfectly smooth surface. Thus, makers began intentionally making indentations into the surface of new balls using either a knife or hammer and chisel, giving the guttie a textured surface. Many patterns were tried and used. These new gutties, with protruding nubs left by carving patterned paths across the ball's surface, became known as "brambles" due to their resemblance to bramble fruit (blackberries).

Wound golf ball
The next major breakthrough in golf ball development came in 1898.  Coburn Haskell of Cleveland, Ohio, had driven to nearby Akron, Ohio, for a golf date with Bertram Work, the superintendent of the B.F. Goodrich Company. While he waited in the plant for Work, Haskell picked up some rubber thread and wound it into a ball. When he bounced the ball, it flew almost to the ceiling. Work suggested Haskell put a cover on the creation, and that was the birth of the 20th-century wound golf ball that would soon replace the guttie bramble ball. The new design became known as the rubber Haskell golf ball.

For decades, the wound rubber ball consisted of a liquid-filled or solid round core that was wound with a layer of rubber thread into a larger round inner core and then covered with a thin outer shell made of balatá sap. The balatá is a tree native to Central and South America and the Caribbean. The tree is tapped and the soft, viscous fluid released is a rubber-like material similar to gutta-percha, which was found to make an ideal cover for a golf ball. Balatá, however, is relatively soft. If the leading edge of a highly lofted short iron contacts a balatá-covered ball in a location other than the bottom of the ball a cut or "smile" will often be the result, rendering the ball unfit for play.

Addition of dimples
In the early 1900s, it was found that dimpling the ball provided even more control of the ball's trajectory, flight, and spin. David Stanley Froy, James McHardy, and Peter G. Fernie received a patent in 1897 for a ball with indentations; Froy played in the Open in 1900 at the Old Course at St. Andrews with the first prototype.

Players were able to put additional backspin on the new wound, dimpled balls when using more lofted clubs, thus inducing the ball to stop more quickly on the green. Manufacturers soon began selling various types of golf balls with various dimple patterns to improve the length, trajectory, spin, and overall "feel" characteristics of the new wound golf balls. Wound, balatá-covered golf balls were used into the late 20th century.

Modern resin and polyurethane covered balls
In the mid-1960s, a new synthetic resin, an ionomer of ethylene acid named Surlyn was introduced by DuPont as were new urethane blends for golf ball covers, and these new materials soon displaced balatá as they proved more durable and more resistant to cutting.

Along with various other materials that came into use to replace the rubber-wound internal sphere, golf balls came to be classified as either two-piece, three-piece, or four-piece balls, according to the number of layered components. These basic materials continue to be used in modern balls, with further advances in technology creating balls that can be customized to a player's strengths and weaknesses, and even allowing for the combination of characteristics that were formerly mutually-exclusive.

Titleist's Pro V1, Taylormade TP5, and Callaway Supersoft exemplify modern advancements in golf ball aerodynamics. The Titleist Pro V1 boasts a tightly wound 388-dimple design, minimizing gaps between dimples for better aerodynamics. On the other hand, the Taylormade TP5 features a combination of circular and hexagonal dimples to reduce drag. Lastly, Callaway balls showcase a sleek, completely hexagonal design for straighter ball flights.

Liquid cores were commonly used in golf balls as early as 1917.  The liquid cores in many of the early balls contained a caustic liquid, typically an alkali, causing eye injuries to children who happened to dissect a golf ball out of curiosity.  By the 1920s, golf ball manufacturers had stopped using caustic liquids, but into the 1970s and 1980s golf balls were still at times exploding when dissected and were causing injuries due to the presence of crushed crystalline material present in the liquid cores.

In 1967, Spalding purchased a patent for a solid golf ball from Jim Bartsch. His original patent defined a ball devoid of the  layers in earlier designs, but Bartsch's patent lacked the chemical properties needed for manufacturing. Spalding's chemical engineering team developed a chemical resin that eliminated the need for the layered components entirely. Since then, the majority of non-professional golfers have transitioned to using solid core (or "2-piece") golf balls.

The specifications for the golf ball continue to be governed by the ruling bodies of the game; namely, The R&A, and the United States Golf Association (USGA).

Regulations

The Rules of Golf, jointly governed by the R&A and the USGA, state in Appendix III that the diameter of a "conforming" golf ball cannot be any smaller than , and the weight of the ball may not exceed . The ball must also have the basic properties of a spherically symmetrical ball, generally meaning that the ball itself must be spherical and must have a symmetrical arrangement of dimples on its surface. While the ball's dimples must be symmetrical, there is no limit to the number of dimples allowed on a golf ball. Additional rules direct players and manufacturers to other technical documents published by the R&A and USGA with additional restrictions, such as radius and depth of dimples, maximum launch speed from test apparatus (generally defining the coefficient of restitution) and maximum total distance when launched from the test equipment.

In general, the governing bodies and their regulations seek to provide a relatively level playing field and maintain the traditional form of the game and its equipment, while not completely halting the use of new technology in equipment design.

Until 1990, it was permissible to use balls of less than 1.68 inches in diameter in tournaments under the jurisdiction of the R&A, which differed in its ball specifications rules from those of the USGA.  This ball was commonly called a "British" ball, while the golf ball approved by the USGA was simply the "American ball". The smaller diameter gave the player a distance advantage, especially in high winds, as the smaller ball created a similarly smaller "wake" behind it.

Aerodynamics
When a golf ball is hit, the impact, which lasts less than a millisecond, determines the ball's velocity, launch angle and spin rate, all of which influence its trajectory and its behavior when it hits the ground.

A ball moving through air experiences two major aerodynamic forces, lift and drag. Dimpled balls fly farther than non-dimpled balls due to the combination of these two effects.

First, the dimples on the surface of a golf ball cause the boundary layer on the upstream side of the ball to transition from laminar to turbulent. The turbulent boundary layer is able to remain attached to the surface of the ball much longer than a laminar boundary with fewer eddies and so creates a narrower low-pressure wake and hence less pressure drag. The reduction in pressure drag causes the ball to travel further.

Second, backspin generates lift by deforming the airflow around the ball, in a similar manner to an airplane wing. This is called the Magnus effect. The dimples on a golf ball deform the air around the ball quickly causing a turbulent airflow that results in more Magnus lift than a smooth ball would experience.

Backspin is imparted in almost every shot due to the golf club's loft (i.e., angle between the clubface and a vertical plane). A backspinning ball experiences an upward lift force which makes it fly higher and longer than a ball without spin.

Curvature of the ball flight occurs when the clubface is not aligned perpendicularly to the club direction at impact, leading to an angled spin axis that causes the ball to curve to one side or the other based on difference between the face angle and swing path at impact. Because the ball's spin during flight is angled, and because of the Magnus effect, the ball will take on a curved path during its flight. Some dimple designs claim to reduce the sidespin effects to provide a straighter ball flight.

Other effects can change the flight behaviour of the ball. Factors such as dynamic lie (The angle of the shaft at impact relative to the ground and its manufactured neutral angle), strike location if the player is using a wood due to the curved face, and external factors such as wind and debris.

To keep the aerodynamics optimal, the golf ball needs to be clean, including all dimples. Thus, it is advisable that golfers wash their balls whenever permissible by the rules of golf. Golfers can wash their balls manually using a wet towel or using a ball washer of some type.

Design

Dimples first became a feature of golf balls when English engineer and manufacturer William Taylor, co-founder of the Taylor-Hobson company, registered a patent for a dimple design in 1905. William Taylor had realized that golf players were trying to make irregularities on their balls, noticing that used balls were going further than new ones. Hence he decided to make systematic tests to determine what surface formation would give the best flight. He then developed a pattern consisting of regularly spaced indentations over the entire surface, and later tools to help produce such balls in series.
Other types of patterned covers were in use at about the same time, including one called a "mesh" and another named the "bramble", but the dimple became the dominant design due to "the superiority of the dimpled cover in flight".

Most modern golf balls have about 300–500 dimples, though there have been balls with more than 1000 dimples. The record holder was a ball with 1,070 dimples—414 larger ones (in four different sizes) and 656 pinhead-sized ones.

Officially sanctioned balls are designed to be as symmetrical as possible. This symmetry is the result of a dispute that stemmed from the Polara, a ball sold in the late 1970s that had six rows of normal dimples on its equator but very shallow dimples elsewhere. This asymmetrical design helped the ball self-adjust its spin axis during the flight. The USGA refused to sanction it for tournament play and, in 1981, changed the rules to ban aerodynamic asymmetrical balls. Polara's producer sued the USGA and the association paid US$1.375 million in a 1985 out-of-court settlement.

Golf balls are traditionally white, but are commonly available in other colors, some of which may assist with finding the ball when lost or when playing in low-light or frosty conditions. As well as bearing the maker's name or logo, balls are usually printed with numbers or other symbols to help players identify their ball.

Behavior
Today, golf balls are manufactured using a variety of different materials, offering a range of playing characteristics to suit the player's abilities and desired flight and landing behaviours.

A key consideration is "compression", typically determined by the hardness of the ball's core layers. A harder "high-compression" ball will fly further because of the more efficient transfer of energy into the ball, but will also transmit more of a shock through the club to the player's hands (a "hard feel"). A softer "low-compression" ball will do just the opposite. Golfers typically prefer a softer feel, especially in the "short game", as the softer ball typically also has greater backspin with lofted irons. However, a softer ball reduces drive distance, as it wastes more energy in compression. This makes it more difficult for players to get a birdie or eagle, as it can take more strokes to get on the green.

Another consideration is "spin", affected by compression and by the cover material – a "high-spin" ball allows more of the ball's surface to contact the clubface at impact, allowing the grooves of the clubface to "grip" the ball and induce more backspin at launch. Backspin creates lift that can increase carry distance, and also provides "bite" which allows a ball to arrest its forward motion at the initial point of impact, bouncing straight up or even backwards, allowing for precision placement of the ball on the green with an approach shot. However, high-spin cover materials, typically being softer, are less durable which shortens the useful life of the ball, and backspin is not desirable on most long-distance shots, such as with the driver, as it causes the shot to "balloon" and then to bite on the fairway, when additional rolling distance is usually desired.

Lastly, the pattern of dimples plays a role. By regulation, the arrangement of the dimples on the ball must be as symmetrical as possible. However, the dimples do not all have to be the same size, nor be in a uniform distribution. This allows designers to arrange the dimple patterns in such a way that the resistance to spinning is lower along certain axes of rotation and higher along others. This causes the ball to "settle" into one of these low-resistance axes that (golfers hope) is close to parallel with the ground and perpendicular to the direction of travel, thereby eliminating "sidespin" induced by a slight mishit, which will cause the ball to curve off its intended flight path. A badly mishit ball will still curve, as the ball will settle into a spin axis that is not parallel with the ground which, much like an aircraft's wings, will cause the shot to bank either to the left or to the right.

Selection
There are many types of golf balls on the market, and customers often face a difficult decision. Golf balls are divided into two categories: recreational and advanced balls. Recreational balls are oriented toward the ordinary golfer, who generally have low swing speeds ( or lower) and lose golf balls on the course easily. These balls are made of two layers, with the cover firmer than the core. Their low compression and side spin reduction characteristics suit the lower swing speeds of average golfers quite well. Furthermore, they generally have lower prices than the advanced balls, lessening the financial impact of losing a ball to a hazard or out of bounds.

Advanced balls are made of multiple layers (three or more), with a soft cover and firm core. They induce a greater amount of spin from lofted shots (wedges especially), as well as a sensation of softness in the hands in short-range shots. However, these balls require a much greater swing speed and thus greater physical strength to properly compress at impact. If the compression of a golf ball does not match a golfer's swing speed, either
a lack of compression or over-compression will occur, resulting in loss of distance. Other choices consumers must make include brand and color,  with colored balls and better brands generally being more expensive.

Practice/range balls
A practice ball or range ball is similar to a recreational golf ball, but is designed to be inexpensive, durable and have a shorter flight distance, while still retaining the principal behaviors of a "real" golf ball and so providing useful feedback to players. All of these are desirable qualities for use in an environment like a driving range, which may be limited in maximum distance, and must have many thousands of balls on-hand at any time that are each hit and mis-hit hundreds of times during their useful life.

To accomplish these ends, practice balls are typically harder-cored than even recreational balls, have a firmer, more durable cover to withstand the normal abrasion caused by a club's hitting surface, and are made as cheaply as possible while maintaining a durable, quality product. Practice balls are typically labelled with "PRACTICE" in bold lettering, and often also have one or more bars or lines printed on them, which allow players (and high-speed imaging aids) to see the ball's spin more easily as it leaves the tee or hitting turf.

Practice balls conform to all applicable requirements of the Rules of Golf, and as such are legal for use on the course, but as the hitting characteristics are not ideal, players usually opt for a better-quality ball for actual play.

Recycled balls

Players, especially novice and casual players, lose a large number of balls during the play of a round. Balls hit into water hazards, penalty areas, buried deeply in sand, and otherwise lost or abandoned during play are a constant source of litter that groundskeepers must contend with, and can confuse players during a round who may hit an abandoned ball (incurring a penalty by strict rules). An estimated 1.2 billion balls are manufactured every year and an estimated 300 million are lost in the US alone.

A variety of devices such as nets, harrows, sand rakes etc. have been developed that aid the groundskeeping staff in efficiently collecting these balls from the course as they accumulate. Once collected, they may be discarded, kept by the groundskeeping staff for their own use, repurposed on the club's driving range, or sold in bulk to a recycling firm. These firms clean and resurface the balls to remove abrasions and stains, grade them according to their resulting quality, and sell the various grades of playable balls back to golfers through retailers at a discount.

Used or recycled balls with obvious surface deformation, abrasion or other degradation are known informally as "shags", and while they remain useful for various forms of practice drills such as chipping, putting and driving, and can be used for casual play, players usually opt for used balls of higher quality, or for new balls, when playing in serious competition. Other grades are typically assigned letters or proprietary terms, and are typically differentiated by the cost and quality of the ball when new and the ability of the firm to restore the ball to "like-new" condition. The "top grade" balls are typically balls that are considered the current state of the art and, after cleaning and surfacing, are indistinguishable externally from a new ball sold by the manufacturer.

Markouts/X-outs
In addition to recycled balls, casual golfers wishing to procure quality balls at a discount price can often purchase "X-outs". These are "factory seconds" – balls which have failed the manufacturer's quality control testing standards and which the manufacturer therefore does not wish to sell under its brand name. To avoid a loss of money on materials and labor, however, the balls which still generally conform to the Rules are marked to obscure the brand name (usually with a series of "X"s, hence the most common term "X-out"), packaged in generic boxes and sold at a deep discount.

Typically, the flaw that caused the ball to fail QC does not have a significant effect on its flight characteristics (balls with serious flaws are usually discarded outright at the manufacturing plant), and so these "X-outs" will often perform identically to their counterparts that have passed the company's QC. They are thus a good choice for casual play. However, because the balls have been effectively "disowned" for practical and legal purposes by their manufacturer, they are not considered to be the same as the brand-name balls on the USGA's published Conforming Golf Ball List. Therefore, when playing in a tournament or other event that requires the ball used by the player to appear on this list as a "condition of competition", X-outs of any kind are illegal.

Marking and personalization
Golfers need to distinguish their ball from other players' to ensure that they do not play the wrong ball. This is often done by making a mark on the ball using a permanent marker pen such as a Sharpie. A wide number of markings are used; a majority of players either simply write their initial in a particular color, or color in a particular arrangement of the dimples on the ball. Many players make multiple markings so that at least one can be seen without having to lift the ball. Marking tools such as stamps and stencils are available to speed the marking process.

Alternatively, balls are usually sold pre-marked with the brand and model of golf ball, and also with a letter, number or symbol. This combination can usually (but not always) be used to distinguish a player's ball from other balls in play and from lost or abandoned balls on the course. Companies, country clubs and event organizers commonly have balls printed with their logo as a promotional tool, and some professional players are supplied with balls by their sponsors which have been custom-printed with something unique to that player (their name, signature, or a personal symbol).

Radio location
Golf balls with embedded radio transmitters to allow lost balls to be located were first introduced in 1973, only to be rapidly banned for use in competition. More recently RFID transponders have been used for this purpose, though these are also illegal in tournaments. This technology can however be found in some computerized driving ranges. In this format, each ball used at the range has an RFID with its own unique transponder code. When dispensed, the range registers each dispensed ball to the player, who then hits them towards targets in the range. When the player hits a ball into a target, they receive distance and accuracy information calculated by the computer. The use of this technology was first commercialized by World Golf Systems Group to create TopGolf, a brand and chain of computerized ranges now owned by Callaway Golf.

World records
Canadian long drive champion Jason Zuback broke the world ball speed record on an episode of Sport Science with a golf ball speed of . The previous record of  was held by José Ramón Areitio, a Jai Alai player.

See also
Air flow ball

References

Further reading

External links
 Online golf ball museum with more than 1000 different golf balls
 Golf Balls Get Built-In Zip, July 1950, Popular Science detailed article on production of Golf Balls

History
 A history of the golf ball
 All about Golf Balls

Ball
Balls

Golf ball


Limerick ham () is a particular method of preparing a joint of ham within the cuisine of Ireland. The method was originally developed in County Limerick, Ireland. The main manufacturers were O'Mara. Matterson, Shaws, and Denny.

Preparation
Traditionally, the initial stage in the preparation of a Limerick ham is to smoke it over juniper branches. After this stage, the whole haunches, hams, and other cuts are distributed to butchers, who usually divide these large cuts into smaller portions and may cure the meat prior to sale.

After purchase, a Limerick ham is typically steeped in cold water overnight. Cooking involves boiling in cider, then baking on a very high heat to crisp the fat.

See also

 List of hams
 List of Irish dishes

References

Irish cuisine
Pork dishes
Ham
Bacon

Limerick ham


Paramount Network is an American basic cable television channel owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Media Networks, a division of Paramount Global. The network's headquarters are located at the Paramount Pictures studio lot in Los Angeles.

The channel was originally founded by a partnership between radio station WSM and Westinghouse Broadcasting as The Nashville Network (TNN) and began broadcasting on March 7, 1983. It initially featured programming catering towards the culture of the Southern United States, including country music, variety shows, outdoors programming, and motor racing coverage (such as NASCAR). TNN was purchased by the Gaylord Entertainment Company in 1983. After Gaylord bought CMT in 1991, TNN's music programming was shifted to CMT, leaving TNN to focus on entertainment and lifestyle programming.

In 1995, TNN and CMT were acquired by Westinghouse, which was in turn acquired by Viacom in 1999. Under Viacom ownership, TNN would phase out country-influenced programming in favor of a general entertainment format appealing to Middle America. It was renamed The National Network in September 2000, coinciding with the network premiere of WWF Raw. In August 2003, TNN relaunched as Spike TV, which targeted a young adult male audience. From June 2006, the network's programming had a more explicit focus on the action genre, while in 2010, the network had an increased focus on original reality series. This culminated with a final rebrand in 2015 to emphasize gender-balanced series (such as Lip Sync Battle) and a return to original scripted programming. On January 18, 2018, Spike relaunched as Paramount Network, aiming to align the network with its namesake studio (which previously lent its name to the now-defunct United Paramount Network), and to position it as a flagship, "premium" channel.

One of Paramount Network's only major successes in scripted programming has been Yellowstone—which quickly became the channel's flagship drama, and has spawned multiple spin-offs on Paramount+, the streaming service owned by its parent company Paramount Global. In 2020 and 2021, the channel cancelled most of its original series or moved them to other Paramount Global networks, as part of a proposed plan to relaunch the Paramount Network with a focus on made-for-TV films. By January 2022, these plans had been scrapped due to the impact of COVID-19 and success of the Yellowstone franchise, leaving it and Spike holdover Bar Rescue as the channel's only original, first-run programs. The channel has also featured limited engagements of new Paramount+ original series by Yellowstone co-creator Taylor Sheridan, using Yellowstone as a lead-in.

As of September 2018, approximately 80.24 million households in the United States received Paramount Network.

History

The Nashville Network (1983–2000)

The Nashville Network first launched on March 7, 1983; it was dedicated to the culture and lifestyle of country music and the U.S. South.  It originally operated as a joint venture of WSM, Inc., at the time owned by National Life and Accident Insurance Company, and Group W Satellite Communications. TNN operated from the now-defunct Opryland USA theme park near Nashville, Tennessee. Country Music Television (CMT), founded by Glenn D. Daniels, beat TNN's launch by two days, robbing them of the claim of the "first country music cable television network." TNN's flagship shows included Nashville Now, The Statler Brothers Show, American Sports Cavalcade and Grand Ole Opry Live. Nashville Now and the Grand Ole Opry were broadcast live from Opryland USA.

The Gaylord Entertainment Company purchased WSM, along with TNN and the Opryland properties, in the latter half of 1987. Much of TNN's programming (except for its sports) during the Gaylord era was originally produced by Opryland Productions, also owned by Gaylord Entertainment. From 1983 to 1992, all of TNN's auto racing and motor sports coverage was produced by Diamond P Sports. Starting in 1993, TNN started having its NASCAR coverage produced by World Sports Enterprises, and the American Speed Association coverage produced by Group 5 Sports, while Diamond P continued to produce most of the rest of the racing coverage. Programming included variety shows, talk shows, game shows, outdoor shows (such as hunting and fishing), and lifestyle shows; all centered in some way around country music or the country style of living.

Some of TNN's popular on-air talent included local Nashville media personalities Ralph Emery, Dan Miller, Charlie Chase and Lorianne Crook, as well as established stars such as country music singer Bill Anderson and actresses Florence Henderson and Dinah Shore. By 1995, TNN was acquired by Westinghouse Electric Corporation, which had recently acquired CBS around that time; two years later, Westinghouse bought CMT, TNN's chief competitor. In 1998, the channel dropped its "The Nashville Network" moniker and shortened its official name to TNN. Ownership shifted to Viacom in the late 1990s after its acquisition of CBS Corporation, Westinghouse's successor.

The National Network, the New TNN, and professional wrestling (2000–2003)
In 1999, TNN began to downplay its previous country lifestyle programming to appeal to a wider demographic, including younger viewers; capitalizing on the success of RollerJam (a roller derby-inspired series with elements of professional wrestling), TNN reached a three-year deal to broadcast a weekly television series from the Philadelphia-based wrestling promotion Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), which would air on Friday nights beginning in late-August 1999. Under the contract, ECW also agreed to revenue sharing with TNN for all of the promotion's events (including live shows and pay-per-views) and merchandising. These two programs would air as part of a Friday-night block themed around extreme sports programming, alongside Motor Madness and Championship Bull Riding; a TNN executive described bull riding as being "the original extreme sport".

In November 1999, TNN announced new programming and primetime theme blocks it planned to introduce in 2000, including Movie Monday (which would target female viewers), Action Wednesday, Friday Night Thrill Zone, Classic Country on Saturday nights, and TNN Outdoors on Sundays. The new schedule, along with new series such as the action drama 18 Wheels of Justice, collegiate bowling competition series Rockin' Bowl, reruns of the Western anthology Dead Man's Gun, and a new promotional campaign targeting younger viewers, were intended to introduce a broader audience to the network. Despite ECW reportedly driving a 200% increase in young male viewership in its timeslot, the promotion had a strained relationship with TNN's management—which had also given the program little advertising.

On September 25, 2000, TNN was folded into the MTV Networks division based in New York City, and was renamed The National Network. The rebranding coincided with major changes to the network's programming, including the network premiere of RAW Is War—the flagship weekly program of the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, later WWE)—which moved to TNN from USA Network as part of a new contract with Viacom. As WWF programs were among USA Network's top programs, the move was considered a major coup for TNN. MTV Networks chairman Tom Freston described TNN as now being a general entertainment service, albeit one with a "sort of populist middle-America flavor" rather than "another network for New York or Los Angeles."

Football also became more prominent on the network, as it began airing games of the original Arena Football League (AFL) with Eli Gold as an announcer. TNN was also one of three networks to air games of the ill-fated, WWF-backed XFL (along with NBC and UPN). As part of its contract, TNN had the rights to a late Sunday afternoon game each week except for the first week, when UPN aired the afternoon game instead. In 2001, TNN aired CBS Sports-produced coverage of the inaugural opening round game of the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. The opening round game would later move to ESPN in 2002.

In 2001, TNN added off-network sitcoms and dramas such as Diff'rent Strokes, The Wonder Years, The Rockford Files, WKRP in Cincinnati, Newhart, Hangin' With Mr. Cooper, Miami Vice and Taxi. It also became the first channel to air reruns of MADtv. These moves went unnoticed for the most part, due to TNN's lack of popularity. By this time, all country-western programming had been purged from the network; some of The Nashville Network's former programming was picked up by CMT, while other classic TNN shows were picked up by Great American Country, including eventually the Grand Ole Opry, which was pushed off to CMT and eventually removed by Viacom after they did not renew the agreement to carry the series. In 2001, TNN began to market itself as "The New TNN", an inadvertent pleonasm in its full context.

By late 2002, the channel had picked up more male-oriented shows, such as Baywatch, Monster Jam, the hidden camera game show Oblivious, Robot Wars Extreme Warriors, Star Trek: The Next Generation, and Slamball.

Spike (2003–2018)
In April 2003, it was announced that the network would be relaunched as Spike TV on June 16. Promoted with the slogan "The First Network for Men", Viacom aimed to target young adult males aged 18–34 — a demographic they believed were being served insufficiently by other cable networks. Spike's launch programming would include a slate of new adult animation series such as Gary the Rat, Ren & Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon" (an adult-oriented revival of the former Nickelodeon series The Ren & Stimpy Show, led by its original creator John Kricfalusi), and Stripperella, as well as other new series such as Ride with Funkmaster Flex, joined by its recent acquisitions CSI, Star Trek, and Raw. Other planned programming included interstitial segments on health, technology, and finance in collaboration with Men's Health, Stuff, and MarketWatch.

Three days before the planned launch date, film director Spike Lee won a New York Supreme Court injunction preventing Viacom from using the name "Spike TV". Lee claimed that because of his well-known popularity in Hollywood, viewers would therefore assume that he was associated with the new channel. Lee stated in court papers that: "The media description of this change of name, as well as comments made to me and my wife, confirmed what was obvious—that Spike TV referred to Spike Lee." Spike Jones Jr., son of comic musician Spike Jones, became a party to the lawsuit as part of Viacom's defense to protect the rights to his father's name.

Most of the new programming would premiere on the originally-planned date as a soft launch; at this time, the TNN name and logo was downplayed heavily in favor of the "First Network for Men" tagline. The suit was settled on July 8, 2003, in announcing the settlement, Lee admitted that he did not believe that the channel intentionally tried to trade on his name. On July 28, 2003, it was announced that Spike TV would officially launch on August 11, 2003—eight weeks later than initially scheduled. Its launch night programming featured two programs originally intended to air on June 16, including Party with Spike—a launch special filmed at the Playboy Mansion, and the premiere of Most Extreme Elimination Challenge—a comedic dub of the Japanese game show Takeshi's Castle. Klasky Csupo's Immigrants and the John Leguizamo-produced Zilch & Zero were originally slated to run on Spike TV's animation block, but these plans never materialized and the former was broadcast as a film instead. Later that year, Spike premiered the reality television parody The Joe Schmo Show, and launched the Spike Video Game Awards.

On January 17, 2005, Spike TV premiered The Ultimate Fighter, a reality competition series following mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters training and competing to earn a contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). The series helped to raise the profile of the promotion, and would run for 14 seasons, ending its run in 2011 only after Fox Sports acquired the U.S. television rights to UFC programming and events under a new, seven-year deal.

In March 2005, Viacom announced that it would not renew its contract with WWE when it expired in September 2005. Spike's new president, Doug Herzog, stated that the network had planned to "expand its investments in original programming and new acquisitions for its core audience", including new scripted programming. The following month, it was announced that WWE Raw would return to USA Network. Spike subsequently reached a deal with another wrestling promotion, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), which saw TNA Impact! premiere on Saturday, October 1, 2005. Later in the month, Spike TV debuted the video game news show Game Head, hosted by Geoff Keighley.

"Get More Action"

In 2005, Viacom conducted research which found that word-of-mouth knowledge narrowly perceived Spike TV's programming as being predominantly "low-brow", violent, and reliant on sex appeal. These findings led Viacom to pursue a rebrand in an effort to clarify the network's focus. At its upfront presentations in 2006, Viacom unveiled a new logo for the channel (officially shortening its name to simply "Spike"), and the new slogan "Get More Action". The new brand was described as being "authentic" and "unapologetically" masculine, and emphasizing action as a core genre of programming for the network. The new branding would launch alongside the premiere of Blade: The Series in June 2006. Spike also attracted advertisers with product placement opportunities, such as the "Men of Action" promos, which featured homages and parodies of "classic action moments".

On September 5, 2006, Spike premiered the documentary film Metal of Honor: The Ironworkers of 9/11 by filmmaker Rachel Maguire, which profiled the ironworkers' efforts in the attempts for rescue and recovery following the September 11 attacks at the World Trade Center site. The film proceeds through the ironworkers' dismantling of the fallen towers. On October 10, 2006, Spike debuted the Scream Awards, the first awards show honoring horror, science fiction, fantasy and comic book-based entertainment.

In October 2007, Kevin Kay was appointed network president after serving as executive vice president and general manager of the channel for the previous two years. The post had been vacant since December 2006. In 2008, the network debuted DEA, a reality series based on the Drug Enforcement Administration.

On April 7, 2008, Spike acquired cable syndication rights for the sitcom Married... with Children. Five new unscripted series were also picked up for the channel's Summer 2008 lineup, including 1000 Ways To Die.

In the fall of 2009, Spike broadcast live Australian rugby league semifinal games from the National Rugby League and also showed the grand final, as part of efforts by David Niu to bring the National Rugby League USA to the United States. On June 1, 2010, Spike launched into the first crowd-sourced pilot episode contest with Scripped, a web-based screenwriting community.

"Get Real"
In January 2011, Spike ordered two new reality television series, Bar Rescue and Repo Games. During Viacom's upfronts presentation that May, it was announced that Spike would undergo a brand repositioning, with a larger focus on reality programming and a broader audience of males in the key demographic. The changes were intended to pivot Spike's brand in a more mature direction, which were described as an aim to be less like Maxim magazine and more like Esquire. A promotional campaign emphasized adversity as a common theme in Spike's programming.

The following year, Spike ordered the new series Rat Bastards (a series following a pest control business in Mississippi), Tattoo Nightmares, along with a revival of World's Wildest Police Videos, and Full Bounty—a bounty hunting reality series that was later revealed to actually be a third season of The Joe Schmo Show. In 2013, Bellator MMA made its network debut with the premiere of its eighth season; the now Viacom-owned mixed martial arts promotion previously aired on sibling channel MTV2. Later that year, Fox reality series Cops moved to Spike beginning September 14. In the fall, kickboxing promotion Glory made its network debut with Glory 11: Chicago. This was not Spike's first time broadcasting a kickboxing event as, in 2012, they partnered with K-1 to broadcast several events on their website. The end of the year saw the Video Game Awards revamped and become known as VGX.

At the end of the year, Impact Wrestling would air its last episode on Spike on December 24, 2014, before moving to Destination America in 2015. Spike also announced that they would drop their video game award show; Geoff Keighley would go on to create his own award show in the form of The Game Awards. In January 2015, following a similar deal made by NBC, Spike announced they would air monthly fight cards by the Haymon Boxing-created "Premier Boxing Champions".

"The Ones to Watch"

During its upfronts on March 3, 2015, Spike unveiled a new logo and tagline, "The Ones to Watch". The re-branding aimed to make the network more inclusive to women, emphasizing a focus on "big talent, engaging shows and hits that get people talking" and further expansions into scripted series. Alongside the miniseries Tut and the announcement of an expanded episode order for the series Lip Sync Battle (a spin-off of a segment from Late Night with Jimmy Fallon), the network announced an output deal with Dwayne Johnson's Seven Bucks Productions for a series of specials, Emergency Broadcast, an original drama co-created by Max Brooks, and Sweat Inc., a fitness-oriented reality series hosted by Jillian Michaels.

Paramount Network (2018–present)
On February 9, 2017, Viacom announced that Spike TV would relaunch as Paramount Network in 2018 and move its headquarters from the One Astor Plaza in New York City to Paramount Pictures in Los Angeles to give the network a closer association with the film studio. This was part of a restructuring plan by new Viacom CEO Bob Bakish to refocus the majority of its media business around six flagship brands, which included Paramount, BET, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, the Nick Jr. Channel, and MTV. New original series announced in the first half of 2018 included the miniseries Waco and Yellowstone, along with American Woman and Heathers—two comedies originally slated for TV Land. The Shannara Chronicles, which moved to Spike for season 2 from MTV, was not renewed by Paramount Network.

Paramount Network is being positioned as a "premium" basic cable network, similar to AMC and FX. Network president Kevin Kay explained that Bakish wanted Viacom to have a "flagship" outlet for scripted programming, as opposed to making inefficient investments into them across individual channels. He added that Paramount Network's offerings would be distinguished from its competitors by continuing to emphasize Middle America as a key viewer base. Even with its subsequent rebrandings, Paramount Network still had significant carriage strength and viewership in the Midwest and South due to its heritage as TNN. Kay argued that its initial slate of original dramas were not as "dark", citing the setting of Yellowstone as making it "brighter and a bit more blue sky than some of the things that are on premium cable TV now".

In regards to the programs moved to Paramount Network from TV Land, American Woman was moved to take advantage of its prominent leads Alicia Silverstone and Mena Suvari, while Heathers was moved because, in Kay's opinion, the show was not appropriate for TV Land's target audience. In June 2018, Heathers was dropped by Paramount Network and Viacom, citing network concerns over the content of the series in the wake of recent shootings in the U.S., such as the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting. The series would eventually air on Paramount Network in October 2018 in an edited form, with two episodes dropped due to the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting.

Paramount Network began a viral marketing campaign to promote its launch in December 2017. The campaign included a Times Square advertisement asking viewers to phone and email Paramount Network's chief marketing officer Niels Schuurmans to protest Spike's "firing", as well as a string of self-deprecating posts by the network's Twitter account about its history and programming (including that "My favorite number is 329 because it's the number of times Cops is on every night", "We had a show called The Joe Schmo Show. Apparently every decent show name was taken", and that "There's a reason all our early shows were CSI, UFC, TNA, MXC, UTI. No one around here knew how to read"). A network executive stated that the campaign was meant to represent a "public meltdown" by a fired employee.

The campaign concluded with a live streaming event on January 17, 2018, where users could vote on various ways a crew would deface a large model of the former Spike logo, culminating in its demolition. Paramount Network officially launched the following night at 9:00 p.m. ET, marked by a live, Michael Jackson-themed Lip Sync Battle special from the Dolby Theatre.

The Spike trademark remains in active use as a series of channels on Paramount Global's Pluto TV, specifically targeted to men.

Aborted rebrand as a movie network
In early 2020, Paramount Network began to cut back on scripted series development, having dropped upcoming projects such as Emily in Paris (which was subsequently picked up by Netflix), and cancelling 68 Whiskey after a single season. On September 11, 2020, it was announced that Bellator would move to CBS Sports Network in October 2020. It would later move to Showtime in April 2021.

On September 22, 2020, ViacomCBS president of Entertainment and Youth Brands Chris McCarthy told Variety in an exclusive that Paramount Network would relaunch as a movie channel "within the next year" (to be tentatively known as Paramount Movie Network). The relaunched network was to focus primarily on original made-for-TV films featuring major talent, with a plan to premiere 52 films per-year. The films would have been largely produced by Paramount Pictures and MTV Studios, with plans for co-productions with ViacomCBS International networks such as Argentina's Telefe, Australia's Network 10, and the United Kingdom's Channel 5. These changes would have mirrored a similar shift in programming that McCarthy undertook at sister channel Comedy Central, which also dropped live-action series development in favor of original specials, films, and adult animation.

At least one scripted series or miniseries was to be carried per-quarter, such as Yellowstone (albeit with episodes premiering in a different format to suit a cinematic presentation), but the channel was to abandon non-scripted programming. In preparation for the relaunch, it was stated that Bar Rescue and Lip Sync Battle would move to another ViacomCBS channel to be determined, while Ink Master and Wife Swap were both cancelled.

Former Lifetime SVP of original movies Meghan Hooper White had been brought on as ViacomCBS's head of original movies and specials in May 2020, and was to oversee the Paramount Movie Network slate, as well as television films and specials across all other ViacomCBS networks. However, she was released from the company in August 2021 as part of a reorganization of Paramount+ and MTV Entertainment Group's executive structure. In the interim, new seasons of Bar Rescue and Yellowstone would premiere on the network in 2021, and in October 2021, the second season of The Last Cowboy (a reality competition series by Yellowstone co-creator Taylor Sheridan) moved to CMT. Ink Master was also picked up for a new season by Paramount+.

The channel also began a strategy of promoting new Paramount+ original series involving Sheridan, such as Mayor of Kingstown and Yellowstone prequel 1883, under which their initial episodes were given special television airings on Paramount Network as lead-outs for Yellowstone. 1883 would set a record for the highest-rated premiere in Paramount Network history, and on cable overall since 2015, with 4.9 million viewers. McCarthy described this practice as a method of using its linear platforms as a "launch pad" for streaming content.

In January 2022, Deadline reported that the network relaunch had been shelved, partly due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on TV and film production, in addition to Yellowstone'''s ratings success—which had been influenced by the acquisition of streaming rights to the series by NBCUniversal's Peacock. The network also acquired linear rights to the Spectrum Originals series George & Tammy. During the Paramount Global upfronts in May 2022, it was announced that Yellowstone spin-off 6666 had been shifted from Paramount+ to Paramount Network, the fifth season of Yellowstone would premiere in November 2022, and that the first two episodes of Sheridan and Sylvester Stallone's Paramount+ series Tulsa King would receive special airings as lead-outs for Yellowstone.

 Programming

Paramount Network's current programming consists primarily of reruns of sitcoms and drama series, as well as airings of feature films. As of 2022, the network's lone original drama is Yellowstone, which launched alongside the rebranding of Spike as Paramount Network, and grew in viewership throughout its first four seasons. Bar Rescue, a reality series carried over from Spike, has also continued to air new episodes on Paramount Network.

As Spike, male-oriented programs constituted the majority of the network's schedule upon its original relaunch in 2003. By 2011, Spike had shifted its programming towards shows aimed at a broader audience, such as Bar Rescue. Finally, with its 2015 rebrand, Spike attempted to add more "gender-balanced" programming.

The network had formerly carried combat sports programming throughout its various incarnations; being the first basic cable home of mixed martial arts promotion the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and early seasons of The Ultimate Fighter. Other promotions and sports-related programming have included kickboxing events from Glory and K-1; professional wrestling from Impact Wrestling, WWE, and Extreme Championship Wrestling; boxing cards from Premier Boxing Champions; and the Paramount-owned Bellator MMA and Bellator Kickboxing.

 Website
On October 15, 2005, Viacom acquired iFilm, which was initially launched in 1997. After acquiring the website for $49 million, it was eventually rebranded to Spike.com and provided hosting of user-uploaded videos in a short-lived attempt to compete with YouTube (which Viacom had sued to remove user-generated uploads of its programming from), a strategy eventually abandoned to refocus Spike.com as a general network site. The iFilm.com domain redirected to the Screen Junkies website for a period of time.

During the era where they hosted user generated content, Spike.com's managers only approved videos pre-screened to meet their standards. On January 18, 2018, Spike.com was sunsetted, and viewers were redirected to the new Paramount Network site and domain.

 International availability

 Canada
In April 1984, while as TNN, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) approved the channel for carriage by Canadian cable and satellite television providers. Following its re-branding as Spike TV, the Canadian Association of Broadcasters filed a complaint with the CRTC on behalf of Canwest Global, demanding the channel be removed from Canadian television providers. The CAB felt that its new general entertainment format would unduly compete with various Canadian-run specialty channels, arguing that there was overlap in its niche and its then-current schedule with Men TV (men's lifestyle), Space (Star Trek), sports channels such as TheScore (WWE), Discovery Health (interstitial segments focusing on men's health, although the network did not air any full-length programs on the topic and mainly focused on generic women's and children's health and pregnancy-related programming at the time), along with the inexplicable naming of Report on Business Television and CTV Travel for reasons unknown.

In January 2005, the CRTC dismissed the CAB's complaint, ruling that it provided insufficient evidence that Spike was directly competing with Canadian specialty channels. The CRTC ruled that Spike did not unduly compete with Men TV, since it was licensed as a service that would carry men's lifestyle programming (in contrast to Spike, which the CRTC classified as a general entertainment channel targeting males), and that the remaining allegations of overlap with domestic Canadian specialty channels represented only a minority of Spike's overall programming.

Due to programming rights issues, programs which the channel does not hold rights to air outside of the U.S. are replaced with alternate programs, consisting mainly of reruns of Spike's previous reality programs.🌐Paramount Network Canada (East) - TV Listings Guide

 Czech Republic
Prima Comedy Central was rebranded as Paramount Network on January 12, 2021.

 Hungary
On December 17, 2020, Paramount Channel in Hungary rebranded as the Paramount Network.

 Latin America
On April 14, 2020, ViacomCBS rebranded the Latin American version of Paramount Channel into Paramount Network.

 Netherlands

Spike rebranded as the Paramount Network in the Netherlands on May 24, 2022.

 Spain
In May 2018, Viacom announced that it would rebrand Paramount Channel in Spain under the Paramount Network name on June 10, 2018, marking Viacom's first property outside of the U.S. to adopt the brand. Paramount Channel in Spain had been among Viacom's most successful international properties. The channel adopted a similar general entertainment format to the U.S. version, with its launch lineup featuring the fifth season of Alaska y Mario (moving from MTV Spain), and a lineup of imported dramas and films.

 United Kingdom

Paramount Network launched in the UK on July 4, 2018, it is operated by the Viacom-owned network Channel 5. It is the second Paramount-branded property in that market; its domestic version of Comedy Central launched as the Paramount Channel in 1995, then was Paramount Comedy from 1997 until 2009, when it took the Comedy Central name. On January 7, 2020, it replaced the British version of Spike in its channel allotments on Freeview, cable, and satellite. The British version of Paramount Network was closed the day prior, and rebranded as 5Action on January 19, 2022.

 Spike
Viacom began to launch localized versions of Spike in 2015.
 On April 15, 2015, a British version of Spike was launched; owned by Viacom International Media Networks Europe, it is operated as a sister digital terrestrial television channel to Channel 5, which Viacom had acquired the previous year. Its launch lineup primarily featured Spike's original programs and reruns from its parent network, acquired U.S. drama imports (such as Breaking Bad, Justified and The Walking Dead''), along with Bellator MMA and the domestic MMA promotion BAMMA. On 31 October 2017, the channel changed its name to 5Spike to better-signify its connection to Channel 5's other digital networks. On 7 January 2020, 5Spike was shut down, with its channel allotments and selected programs being assumed by the British version of Paramount Network.
On August 18, 2015, Viacom announced that a Dutch version of Spike would launch in the Netherlands and Flanders. The channel began as a timeshare on the Dutch Nickelodeon channel, airing from 21:00 to 02:30 CET daily. On December 12, 2016, Spike launched in the Netherlands as a 24-hour channel on Ziggo. Spike and Nickelodeon continued time-sharing in Flanders until January 6, 2021, when Nickelodeon became a 24-hour channel again. on May 24, 2022, Spike was replaced by Paramount Network.
 In July 2016, an Australian version of Spike was launched on Fetch TV. This channel was closed on 27 February 2022 with no replacement.
 On December 1, 2016, a Hungarian version of the channel named RTL Spike was launched, via brand licensing and advertising sales agreements with the RTL Group. On October 20, 2020, ViacomCBS announced the channel's closure, and the closure date was confirmed on November 23 that year. RTL Spike was shut down on January 12, 2021, and was replaced by TeenNick.
 On March 15, 2017, a Russian version of Spike was launched as a separate channel, airing alongside the local version of Paramount Channel. This channel was shut down on June 1, 2021.
 On October 22, 2017, an Italian version of Spike was launched in the country as a free-to-air channel, replacing Fine Living on Digital TV channel 49. The channel, however, ceased broadcasting on January 16, 2022.

Note

References

External links

Television networks in the United States
English-language television stations in the United States
Former video hosting services
Television channels and stations established in 1983
Television channels and stations established in 2018
1983 establishments in Tennessee
2018 establishments in California
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Media Networks

Paramount Network


Alasdair Tait is a Scottish cellist, teacher and artistic director who is the Chief Executive & Artistic Director of Young Classical Artists Trust.  Tait previously recorded and toured with the Belcea Quartet, performed at music festivals, and judged music competitions.

Tait is also a psychodynamic psychotherapist in private practice in London, registered with BPC, and FPC.

Life
Born in Scotland, Tait studied at the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCN) under Emma Ferrand and Ralph Kirshbaum and at the City of Basel Music Academy with Thomas Demenga. On returning to the UK in 1998, Tait joined the Belcea Quartet and was its cellist until 2006.

While with the quartet, Tait performed at Carnegie Hall, Musikverein and Konzerthaus, Köln Philharmonie, Concertgebouw, Chatelet, Cité de la Musique, Frankfurt Alte Oper and the Casals Hall in Tokyo. Tait recorded for EMI CD's of Schubert, Brahms, Britten, Mozart, Fauré and Barber and collaborated with Ian Bostridge, Thomas Ades, Thomas Kakushka and Jonathan Lemalu.

Tait served as was Head of Chamber Music at Guildhall School of Music until 2016.  He then became Chief Executive of Young Classical Artists Trust (YCAT). He previously held the posts of Director of Chamber Music at the RNCM in Manchester, Artistic Director of the RNCM International Chamber Music Festival, Professor of Chamber Music at the International Chamber Music Institute of the Reina Sofía School of Music.  Tait has also been a regular professor on the Britten-Pears International Quartet Academy and the European Chamber Music Academy (ECMA).

Tait has served as a jury member on international competitions such as Melbourne, London and Banff International String Quartet Competitions. He has given masterclasses at the Banff Centre for the Arts,  the Glen Gould School, the New England Conservatory of Music and Stanford University.

He is currently a council member for Aldeburgh Music, a trustee for the Ann Driver Trust, and previously was a Governor for Live Music Now UK and founder board member of the European Chamber Music Teachers Association.

Festivals
Alasdair has participated in festivals Edinburgh, Salzburg, Schubertiade, Risør, Delft, Aldeburgh, Cheltenham and Bath,.  He has performed with Piotr Andrezewski, Christian Zacharias, Kathryn Stott, Imogen Cooper, Aleksander Madzar, Robert Levin, Isabelle van Keulen, Alexander Janicek, Valentin Erben, the Borodin Quartet, Heinz Holliger, Michael Collins, Simon Keenlyside, Dame Anne Murray and Christine Schäfer.

Awards

 2013 made a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
 2016 awarded the ABO (Association of British Orchestras) Artist Manager of the Year.

References

Sources
 Biography from the Royal Northern College of Music page

External links

Scottish classical cellists
Academic staff of the Reina Sofía School of Music
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)

Alasdair Tait