In much the “same way that ESPN covers the action all around the Super Bowl," cameras from cable channel RFD-TV are showing up at National Finals Rodeo-related activities, "such as watch parties in sponsor hotels, rodeo pageants and buckle ceremonies,” according to Alan Snel of the LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL. Rural Media Group CEO Randy Bernard, who was previously PBR and IndyCar CEO, will “tell you he is most at home in his latest job,” which is running RFD-TV, a network "that focuses on rural America and getting back to wearing Wrangler blue jeans instead of executive blue suits.” Bernard “didn’t pay a nickel in NFR broadcast rights fees to capture the bull riding, horse back riding and roping" at UNLV’s Thomas & Mack Center, as the Great American Country network “has the TV broadcast rights for that.” Instead, his half-dozen RFD-TV crews are “roving Las Vegas to give viewers a strong dose of cowboy culture in Las Vegas, plus offer coverage at an RFD studio set at FanFest in the Las Vegas Convention Center.” Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association Commissioner Karl Stressman, whose organization puts on the NFR, “appreciated RFD-TV’s coverage.” He said, “It’s been great pre-game.” Snel notes RFD-TV “is not on Cox Cable in Las Vegas, but it is available via Dish Network and DirecTV to Las Vegas residents.” Cox Hospitality network is “also broadcasting RFD-TV in Las Vegas hotel rooms.” RFD-TV Founder Patrick Gottsch said that it “would not have been possible to pull off the comprehensive NFR coverage in Las Vegas the first year out of the box without Bernard’s deep network of contacts.” Gottsch: “He gave us instant credibility with all the hotels. His reputation in the Western industry is very unique. They know when Randy Bernard gets involved in something, it will get done” (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 12/11).
