PBR Rides Growth Of Sport To Increased Sponsorship Dollars

PBR CEO Randy Bernard said the league is worth “somewhere between [$90-125M],” according to Martin Henderson of the L.A. TIMES. Bernard: “We might still be a niche sport, but within three years, the sports world will have to give us credit as a mainstream sport.” According to Scarborough Data Research, “bull riding was the fastest-growing spectator sport in America” from ’03-05 with a 48.3% increase in attendance, and also the “fastest growing sport” from ’04-05 at 11.8%. Bull riding has also “consistently attracted more viewers” than NHL telecasts on Versus with an average 0.4 Nielsen rating to hockey’s 0.3. Henderson noted PBR events have been shown on Fox “twice after NFL telecasts, and drawn 2.3 and 1.6, respectively.” The final PBR telecast on Fox on Sunday “could be shown between an NFL game and Game 7 of the World Series.” Bernard: “I’ll be very disappointed if we don’t do a 2.5 at the World Finals.” He added that corporate sponsorship dollars are $23M, up from $395,000 in ’95. Meanwhile, Henderson noted Staples Center has “expressed interest, and there is a likelihood an event there will be added to the schedule in 2008, in addition to the existing Anaheim event.” Also, PBR plans a World Cup event beginning in ’07 in Australia, followed in successive years in Brazil, the U.S., Mexico and Canada. In addition, the organization is moving its Colorado Springs HQs to a 44,000-square-foot office complex in Pueblo, Colorado, for its 96 employees. Honda Center CEO Tim Ryan said the PBR “is taken seriously by millions of viewers and people in the arena business. It’s a sport that has its own audience. They’ll continue to grow” (L.A. TIMES, 10/21).