FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SOUTHERN LIVING COLLABORATES WITHGREAT AMERICAN
COUNTRY
ON HOUR-LONG TAILGATING SPECIAL
---
‘The Southern Living Tailgating Playbook’
Premieres Thursday, September 27 at 10 p.m. EST
Reairs Wednesday, October 17 at 8 p.m. EST
--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 hourlong 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
jennifer_zawadzinski@timeinc.com
Megan Levinson, Southern Living, 212-522-3773 or
megan_levinson@timeinc.com
Ronna Rubin, Rubin Media, 615-298-4400 or ronna@rubinmedia.biz
Lee Hall, Scripps Networks, 865-560-3853 or lhall@scrippsnetworks.com
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 http://www.GACTV.com.
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 (http://newsroom.scrippsnetworks.com) for the latest brand news, useful photos and graphics, detailed
programming information, contacts and current research.
###