In 1993, a relatively small broadcast television station called America’s Collectible Network was founded in Greeneville, Tennessee by Robert ‘Bob’ Hall, William ‘Bill’ Kouns, and Gerald ‘Jerry’ D. Sisk, Jr. Featuring a variety of items such as baseball cards, quilts and electronics, something magical began when these three men developed ACN.
The network’s focus migrated from general collectibles to gemstones and jewelry primarily because of the vast knowledge of Kouns and Sisk. In 2004, ACN rebranded into the widely successful Jewelry Television we know today. With 26 TV hosts and programming running 24/7—168 hours’ worth of weekly programming—they feature six specialty shows called “Girlfriend Friday,” “Jewel School” and “The Morning Mix.” JTV also features 18 specialty lines of jewelry.
Current Chief Executive Officer and President, Tim Matthews reports, “On the air and on our website, [we’ve sold] 1.5 billion dollars’ worth of loose gemstones.” More than any other company in the world.
In Knoxville, JTV has about 1,500 people on their 16-acre campus. All of the core business operations in America are held here––studios, technology and internet teams, buying and photography. Through television broadcasting, JTV is able to reach 85 million households in the United States. In 2018, worldwide office locations have expanded to Hong Kong, Bangkok, Jaipur (“color gemstone capital of the world”) and Mumbai.
JTV holds special annual events and brings experts from all over the world to share their gemstones or jewelry designs. This year, the JTV Experience took place July 31-August 3 including specials guests: Bruce Bridges, Chris Sellors and Shelly Sergent.