Professional Bull Riders Signs New Rights Deal with CBS, Merit Street to Provide Most Coverage in History
Professional Bull Riders Signs New Rights Deal with CBS, Merit Street to Provide Most Coverage in History
The new deal will keep CBS the exclusive television home of PBR events until 2030.
CBS is ready to saddle up for the long term once again. PBR (Professional Bull Riders) has announced a new broadcasting deal with CBS and Dr. Phil’s Merit Street Television which will see PBR events say goodbye to tape delays in favor of live windows on weekends, and will keep CBS as a partner of the PBR until 2030. The deal will provide the most live coverage the sport has ever seen, and fans will have even more reasons to watch as CBS and Merit will surround live events with shoulder programming for the first time, demonstrating the value of PBR and proving once again that sports leagues still see the value in over-the-air channels.
Key Details:
- PBR will get consistent live broadcasting windows on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays in the new deal.
- Pre- and post-event PBR shows will surround live events.
- As of now, there are no plans to offer any PBR events as streaming exclusives on Paramount+.
PBR has partnered with CBS since 2012 to offer its events, but fans have always been forced to avoid spoilers on social media since those events were always televised on a tape delay. That will no longer be an issue, as PBR will get regular broadcasting windows each weekend to distribute live events on CBS, much like the NFL has standardized windows every Sunday.
The deal will pay PBR more than $30 million per year and will see events air on CBS and stream on Paramount+. There were no mentions of any streaming-exclusive events for PBR in the deal announcement, but at the very least subscribers will be able to stream events on the service as they happen on CBS.
Altogether, the deal will see CBS and Merit broadcast more than 325 hours of PBR programming every year. With live broadcasts as well as pre and post-event coverage including highlights and analysis, PBR, Merit, and CBS will offer fans the most coverage in the sport’s history. CBS will boost its coverage to 25 hours a year by showcasing premier individual and Teams events, while Merit will be responsible for distributing the other 300+ hours of content.
“Making every ride, every round, and every event available live to fans is a game changer for PBR,” PBR CEO and commissioner Sean Gleason said. “CBS Sports continues to give us the broadest reach possible for our most premium content, while Merit Street is making PBR the anchor of their sports coverage.”
CBS is the year-round leader in cross-platform sports coverage, with its broadcasts of NFL football, college football, and basketball featuring marquee schools, coverage of the Men’s March Madness tournament every year, golf, and more. In the first quarter of 2024, PBR on CBS generated an average of over 1 million viewers, a 15% year-over-year increase. Merit Street anticipates having a reach of over 100 million homes by the end of the year.
“We are excited that CBS Sports will continue our decades long partnership with the PBR and showcase the sport for years to come,” said Dan Weinberg, EVP, Programming, CBS Sports. “PBR’s aptitude for growth and dynamic spirit have pushed them to new heights, and we look forward to delivering PBR to viewers across the country on CBS and Paramount+, with more broadcast hours than ever before.”
There may be some uncertainty about the future of CBS's parent company Paramount Global these days, as the firm proceeds through merger and acquisition talks. But at least for now, the future of PBR’s relationship with CBS seems secure, as the new deal between the two will keep PBR events on CBS until 2030.
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