Hold onto your wide-brimmed hats and get ready for new film jobs! Gov. Susana Martinez confirmed today that Rural Media Group, the self-described "world's leading provider of multimedia content dedicated to the rural and Western lifestyle," will base its RFD-TV and Cowboy Channel subsidiaries and productions in New Mexico.
The group, headed by Nebraska mogul Patrick Gottsch, purchased the Imus Ranch in Ribera, New Mexico back in April, according to other reports.
The announcement from the state says shows like Best of America by Horseback, Debbe Dunning's Dude Ranch Round-Up and Gentle Giants will be now filmed in New Mexico and, according to New Mexico Film Office Director Nick Mantias, "distributed into more than 92 million homes internationally."
Allow us to point out that these show titles are exactly what we'd expect from a Cowboy Channel, but also that the 3,400-acre ranch site, which includes an old-timey Wild West town, will also reportedly be made available to outside productions.
"We will only be limited by our own imagination," Gottsch, founder and president of Rural Media Group, said in a statement.
In the press release, Gov. Susana Martinez declares that "[New Mexico has] grown the film industry and made our state more friendly for investment."
Right on, though interesting considering she vetoed a bill expanding the film tax incentive cap just last year.
The news also comes at a time when Netflix has recently purchased New Mexico real estate for productions and the Breaking Bad movie wound up being the worst-kept secret of the year.
