Charley Humbard, CEO of UP Entertainment, reflects on two decades of inspiring television and discusses what lies ahead as the company celebrates its twentieth anniversary.

The year 2004 was a significant one for people who watch television. Ken Jennings had his first winning streak on “Jeopardy!”; Illinois senator Barack Obama made a splash with a keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention; new series “Lost” and “Desperate Housewives” became obsessions; and “Friends” came to an end after more than a decade of running. In addition, the news was consistently replete with reports stemming from the conflict in Iraq.

A network that would later be known as the Gospel Music Channel was established on October 30. “I remember thinking, ‘Wow, it’s the perfect time to Humbard is aware that a faith-based music channel might not have been the obvious choice for a new network, but he saw indicators that told him they were on the right path. We are on the right path. When he was there, he said, “The landscape was really good at the time.”

The film “The Passion of the Christ” had recently been released, and it had a significant impact on the audience members who are more religiously inclined in their entertainment. We also had some really interesting things working for us, such as the fact that gospel music was just as popular in terms of sales as country music.

Therefore, when the network first began broadcasting, its music-heavy programming slate included concerts, singing competitions, and artist biographies in addition to music video blocks and award shows for Christian music.

After a period of five years, Humbard became aware that, in comparison to other new networks, they were doing something that was successful. During the same time period, the NFL Network was just getting started, and we quickly outgrew the NFL Network. That was something that I always looked at as a pacer because I am aware of how popular that was,” he says. It was also a signal that it was time to start expanding their scope beyond gospel music, and in 2010, they chose to rebrand themselves as GMC. This was because the network was already present in 70 million homes.

After changing its name, the network started producing its own films that were based on religious themes. Additionally, it began purchasing uplifting television series such as “Highway to Heaven” and “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman,” but maintaining its brand identity was not always simple.

“There is a lot of temptation to go out and buy certain shows that we know might rate better, but we put them up against the measuring stick of, ‘Is that what our audience expects?'” he says. “We put them up against the measuring stick like this.” It is the right thing to do in order to build trust with your audience, even though it might not grow our audience as quickly as we would like. “That is absolutely necessary for us.”

Given the significance of having a presence online, the network, however, encountered a challenge that was not anticipated. The name GMC was associated with a significant issue. When asked about the popularity of General Motors Company’s automobiles in the United States, Humbard responds with a chuckle, “There was also this little truck company in Detroit that wouldn’t give up: GMC.com.” As a result, we went back to work not too much longer after that in order to try to think of a name that would be appropriate for us.

When Humbard was on vacation with his family in Cape Canaveral, Florida, he happened to overhear conversations about the numerous space launches that were shooting into the sky. These conversations sparked an idea for him.

“We had always been about uplifting entertainment, so why not just be ‘UP?'” he recalls that they had always been about. “The name was a huge success for us, and it gives a clear indication of what our brands are supposed to represent in the market.” GMC changed its name to UPtv on June 1, 2013, and it bears that name to this day.

UP Entertainment’s founder and CEO, Charles “Charley” Humbard, says that the company’s mission is to “have something positive and uplifting, and there was probably nothing more hopeful than gospel music.”