PBR hails new domestic media rights deals as ‘game changer’

CBS Sports, PBR’s media partner since 2012, has extended its agreement through 2030.

Riccardo Bresaola May 20 2024

Professional Bull Riders (PBR), the US-based international bull riding circuit, has announced media rights agreements with US national network CBS Sports, owned by Paramount Global, and Merit Street Media, the US entertainment network.

Under the new agreements, every event day in the PBR Unleash The Beast individual tour and PBR Teams league will now be broadcast live in dedicated windows on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

CBS Sports, PBR’s media partner since 2012, has extended its agreement through 2030 to broadcast events on the CBS Television Network and Paramount+ streaming service, increasing annual broadcast coverage to 25 hours per year.

Meanwhile, Merit Street Media’s agreement, which marks its first in “a major professional sport”, entails the network showing live PBR events and associated programming, producing more than 300 hours of original PBR content annually.

In addition to live coverage, Merit Street will air 50 episodes of PBR Now, a news and analysis program.

RidePass, PBR’s Western Sports and Lifestyle channel on PlutoTV, will now move to Merit Street’s Merit+ free streaming service.

The Merit Street agreement also includes more coverage of women’s rodeo, with six two-hour Women’s Rodeo World Championship (WRWC) events, through the WRWC’s partnership with PBR.

Sean Gleason, chief executive and commissioner of PBR, said: “Making every ride, every round, and every event available live to fans is a game changer for PBR.

“CBS Sports continues to give us the broadest reach possible for our most premium content, while Merit Street is making PBR the anchor of its sports coverage.”

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