The CW has reached a multi-year agreement with Professional Bull Riders (PBR) to become the exclusive broadcast home of Saturday and Sunday PBR Camping World Team Series events. This announcement finalizes PBR Teams’ broadcast schedule, with Fox Nation continuing to air Friday night games and CBS retaining its “Game of the Week” broadcasts.
The CW’s live coverage commences August 9 and 10 from Sunrise, Florida, during the Freedom Days event. The network will air 11 weekends of live PBR Teams competition, concluding with the league championship at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on October 25 and 26. Saturday broadcasts begin at 6:30 p.m. Eastern time, while Sunday coverage starts at 2 p.m. Eastern time.
Ryan Sharkey, senior vice president of programming and content strategy for The CW Network, stated that the partnership brings “grit” and “edge-of-your-seat action” to the network’s expanding weekend sports programming, which already includes NASCAR Xfinity Series races. Sean Gleason, CEO and commissioner of PBR, noted that The CW offers “free over-the-air access,” expanding the reach of bull riding to a broader national audience. He described the deal as a valuable addition to PBR’s existing television arrangements.
PBR joins other live sports on The CW, including WWE NXT, AVP beach volleyball, ACC and Pac-12 football, and the Savannah Bananas baseball team, whose broadcast debut is slated for July 27 from Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.