PBR Goes Live With CBS Sports, Dr Phil’s Merit Street Media

Professional Bull Riders have inked new media rights deals with CBS Sports and Dr. Phil’s Merit Street Media to generate the most live television coverage and shoulder programming in the sport’s history.

The combined value of the agreements is more than $30 million annually, according to a source who was granted anonymity because the terms are private. The bull riding promotion, owned by Endeavor Group Holdings, is now poised to broadcast live action on Friday, Saturday and Sundays in lieu of previously tape-delayed events.

“We’re going to be live and consistent,” Mark Shapiro, Endeavor president and COO, said in a phone interview. “That’s been our biggest challenge.”

The deals will give PBR consistent weekend broadcast windows similar to the 1 p.m., 4:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. slots used by the NFL on Sundays. In addition to added live coverage, PBR will offer pre- and post-event shows for the first time, along with 50 episodes of PBR Now, which will focus on rodeo news and analysis.

“Our fans will now enjoy true consistency of programming that is live in every window, weekend to weekend,” Shapiro said. “And from a business perspective, economically, it’s a real game changer for the growth of the sport considering the marketing power the two platforms have agreed to put behind PBR.”

Endeavor acquired PBR in 2015.

CBS Sports, which has been a media partner for PBR since 2012, will increase its annual broadcast coverage to 25 hours a year—an increase of nearly 20%—for its part of the agreement, which originally was set to expire in 2025. It now runs through 2030. 

Despite irregularities in platforms and live program times, PBR saw more than 31 million viewers on CBS last year, with more than 900,000 per broadcast on CBS Television Network during the same period.

“[PBR] has become a core property for CBS Sports,” Dan Weinberg, executive vice president of programming, said in an interview. “We feel we’ve really contributed to their growth in terms of promotion and the distribution platform that we provide. It’s really been one of those win-wins with this partnership. … We’re excited to increase our broadcast presence with them.”

Merit Street Media was founded last year by TV personality Dr. Phil McGraw, who is slated to make select appearances at upcoming PBR events. The news and entertainment network is partnering with a major pro sport for the first time and plans to produce unique programming out of its studios in Fort Worth, Texas, which is known for its cowboy culture.

“For a new network at the beginning stages of its existence, what an incredible audience boost that will allow us to market other broader programming,” Merit Street Media chief operating officer Joel Cheatwood said of the four-year deal in an interview. “It will just turbocharge our overall audience development and growth.”

Merit Street Television will carry live PBR events and associated programming for the sport, including increasing the exposure of women’s rodeo. The development comes at a time when there’s a wave of investment and interest in women’s sports across the landscape.  

“I don’t want to jinx it, but this was the most pleasant negotiation I’ve ever been through, and I’ve been through a lot of them,” Cheatwood said. “The stars just aligned.”