Professional Bull Riding is bringing its mix of “extreme sports and cowboy hats well outside its traditional strongholds,” drawing new enthusiasts and wealthy investors in places such as N.Y. while “winning the support of big brands including Yeti, Monster Energy, Cooper Tire and Michelob Ultra,” according to Jon Springer of AD AGE. Experts say that a “combination of factors” are fueling PBR's growth including the “Western culture movement and amped-up live events with pyrotechnics and music.” But PBR is also “playing to broad trends in sports” as the sport is “fast, athletic and dangerous, with 8-second highlights and end-over-end wipeouts perfect for social media consumption.” According to PBR, its owned social media channels “increased their following by 33% last year, led by 633% increase in Instagram video views.” On TikTok, the hashtag #pbr has “gathered a substantial following,” with 11 billion views globally in the 120 days ending on April 1, along with 1 million views and 22,000 posts in the last 30 days. Springer writes the teams format is “opening bull riding to new audiences and geographies” like N.Y. Other parts of the national push included “leaning into the Western culture revival” as PBR last year hired “Yellowstone” actor Cole Hauser as a brand ambassador. PBR also worked on “The Ride,” a documentary-style series focused on the 2022 PBR Teams season which aired on Amazon’s Prime Video last year. PBR CEO Sean Gleason said that a “second season is planned but a media partner for it has not been finalized" (AD AGE, 4/4).
