The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) has made a deal with Rural Media Group (RMG), bringing more exciting programming to RFD-TV and The Cowboy Channel.

Starting in 2020, the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (NFR) will be broadcast on The Cowboy Channel and RFD-TV. In addition, expanded live coverage of the PRORODEO TOUR and the PRCA’s Xtreme Bulls Tour events will be included in the broadcast deal.

PRCA CEO George Taylor calls this “huge milestone in the growth of the PRCA.”

“Never before has PRORODEO assumed the prime placement and coverage that will be seen under this deal,” says Taylor. “Our hats are off to Patrick Gottsch and his family, the owners of Rural Media Group, for their enthusiastic interest, support and devotion to our sport.”

Founder & President of Rural Media Group, Inc. Patrick Gottsch is just as thrilled about the deal. “We are so proud and excited to partner with the PRCA, the rodeo committees, and of course all the PRCA cowboys & cowgirls to aggressively produce and distribute original programming that will support rodeo 365 days-a-year, on networks that are totally dedicated to serving and expanding the western sports community,” says Gottsch. “There is a Golf Channel, the NFL Network, a baseball network, a tennis channel, and so on.  Now rodeo has its own channel(s). RMG plans to do everything for rodeo and the PRCA that these other media partnerships have done for their sports.”

The Cowboy Channel CEO Raquel Gottsch says of the deal,“Our new state-of-the-art studio in the Fort Worth Stockyards will serve as the base for producing the daily PRCA programming, leading up to and culminating each year with the National Finals Rodeo. The massive volume of programming expected to be generated from this 6-year agreement will serve to populate both The Cowboy Channel and RFD-TV with original, unduplicated ‘live’ sports-related content which is very much desired by all cable, satellite, and distribution companies.  We expect our distribution to grow substantially as a result.”

What’s New

PRCA regular-season coverage on The Cowboy Channel and RFD-TV will kick off in January, and that’s only the beginning. Here’s everything set to be included in Rural Media Group’s deal with the PRCA:

  • Live NFR coverage with a new East Coast Prime Time encore
  • Live coverage of at least 18 PRORODEO TOUR final performances each year and a taped highlight show for encore airings on both The Cowboy Channel and RFD-TV
  • TV coverage of 10 episodes of PRCA’s Xtreme Bulls, along with the Xtreme Bulls Tour Finale with encore airings on both TCC and RFD-TV
  • Extended pre- and post-coverage of the NFR each night (RODEO LAS VEGAS)
  • A new weekly pro rodeo studio show, PRORODEO Tonight
  • Augmented event production across all events, including the use of Sky Cam
  • Amplified fan experiences through programming that highlights the uniqueness of local rodeo communities, their organizing committees, and the charities they support, plus special access to the PRCA athletes and other PRCA members whose contributions are key to the sport of PRORODEO
  • National coverage of PRCA PRORODEO on one of the major broadcast networks

NFR 2020

While NFR is already one of the biggest Western events of the year, rodeo fans have even more to be excited about with this deal in place.  For NFR, this deal includes:

  • A 24-hour marathon of prior NFR finals
  • A red-carpet pre-event show
  • A live NFR simulcast on both RFD-TV and The Cowboy Channel for all ten nights
  • A one-hour post-event show after each of the 10 nights
  • Replays the next day on both RFD-TV and The Cowboy Channel

As if we weren’t already looking forward to the next rodeo season! Keep your eye out for these monumental changes from PRCA and Rural Media Group.

 

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