Las Vegas.Q: I saw a quote in which you said, “Our whole goal with our championships is to create major events, and the only way you can do that is through TV. What I’ve tried to do is change the landscape of TV.” What did you mean by that?
Hatchell: The whole idea was that we would showcase our sport with more TV, that we would make it television-friendly. When I got here, people told me that I couldn’t do rodeo live on television, that I couldn’t put it on network TV. Everyone said that trying to do a rodeo production is like herding cats. What we’ve done is put rodeo in a position to be televised live on network television, and to show a lot of it, in the sense that it’s easily understandable and recognized.
Q: Let’s talk about television. You have contracts with CBS, ESPN, ESPN2 and the Outdoor Life Network, and the exposure amounts to over 300 hours this year.
Hatchell: And what that includes is original programming along with the repeats. Much of the 300 hours is in perfect time slots throughout the year.
Q: What are perfect time slots?
Hatchell: If the original is on Saturday afternoon, the repeat could be Sunday night. The reason that the 300 hours are important for us is because we’ve really only been in “the television business” big time for the last four years. The whole idea is to bring the sport to the people. And so to have as much on is really critical for us because this is the way we expose the sport. People that probably know us out there go to rodeo in the summer, but this is the way to follow us.
Q: I read where your estimated TV audience in 2003 was 50 million. Is that an accurate figure?
Hatchell: We actually think it’s going to be over 60 million. We have to wait until we get through the whole year. We use all the services that everybody uses. We use Joyce Julius, which obviously ties in with the Nielsen numbers. All of our networks provide us with the ratings, so it is very easy to follow. And we think we’re very conservative on this. We don’t just sit back and pick a number out of the air. These are hard-core numbers. And then our sponsors, our corporate partners, all work with us on the television numbers as well. So we’re really comfortable in saying that we’re in that 50 to 60 million number.
Q: In 1997 your TV audience was 7.5 million. What is behind the increase?
Hatchell: I think it’s exposure. And it’s exposure at good times. The only television we really had in the past was the national finals rodeo, which is ten days. And then we did seven or eight rodeos. But they were all on late-night TV. They didn’t come on until midnight or so. We changed that, and that’s why the heavy concentration of mainstream television -- meaning key television viewing time, such as prime time, such as Saturday and Sunday afternoons -- has really attracted a greater audience. These numbers continue to grow, which shows that there’s an appetite for rodeo.
Q: Coming from college sports, you said, “I’m not a rodeo person. I was hired to take the sport more mainstream and make it accessible to people who don’t necessarily know rodeo but like the western lifestyle.”
Hatchell: That’s the thing I was asked to do. What was repeated to me often was, “Look, we don’t want you to be a cowboy, so don’t walk around in boots and a hat all the time and try to be something that you’re not.”
But the whole idea is that rodeo is really fun; the lifestyle is fun. The people in the business are fascinating and fun to know. Less than two percent of our society is agrarian based, and shrinking. And what we’re trying to do is showcase what happens in the west and what’s happened in the past, and to do it in a way that makes us competitive with other sports entities in the country. Our events are showcased in a way that’s fast, exciting, and up close and personal on our stock, on our cowboys, on everybody that’s involved. So you get a handle on [rodeo] and it’s easier to follow.
Q: What in your sports background has been most valuable to you in this position?
Hatchell: Probably three things: One, sponsorship knowledge. Two, television knowledge. And, three, when you grow up within a conference atmosphere, the whole idea of boards and working with boards and board direction, developing consensus.
Q: Your sponsorship dollars have more than doubled over the last three years and more than tripled over the last five years. What’s your sponsorship revenue for the year?
Hatchell: We’re at $35M in prize money, and I think we’re safe to say that we’re in the low $30M number in sponsorships.
Q: What’s the biggest challenge in your position?
Hatchell: Just as we’ve done with the television numbers and with the in-stadium attendance, we want everything to grow. In our move to make the sport mainstream, the connotations right off the bat when you say you’re with rodeo are not necessarily positive; they’re not necessarily negative, either, but you have to work really hard just to get back to zero before you can put the sale on. And when I say the sale, I mean selling to television and selling to communities where we’ve created new events.
Second of all, it’s convincing people that we’re a terrific mechanism for sponsors, particularly at the grassroots level, to reach a lot of those passionate about the sport. We use Scarborough Research to show that people who follow rodeo are very devoted to the products that are connected with rodeo, just like you’d find with NASCAR.
 |
| Wrangler Praised By Hatchell As
'Glue' That Holds PRCA Together |
Q: You called Wrangler “A partner like no partner you’ve ever seen in sponsorships.” What makes this partnership unique?
Hatchell: Over the years, the PRCA has had its difficulties, either financial or philosophical or whatever. And the glue that’s held it together over its rough times has been Wrangler support and Wrangler money.
For instance, long ago, when the PRCA needed to have full-time judges for its events, it was Wrangler that put up the first half-million [dollars] to underwrite the program. When it looked like the PRCA was going to have real financial problems -- this was 25-30 years ago, or maybe even longer -- it was Wrangler that said, ‘Hey, we’ll float the money to keep you guys going.’ And then just what they do on a daily basis with their promotion of their product and the licensing money that they put into the system, the promotion of cowboys. I think they’ve got 125 or 130 cowboys on their endorsement list.
The other part of it is they don’t pound you back. They want you to promote them as much as you can, but they view us as part of their lifestyle, part of their fabric. It’s really funny: If you’re in rodeo, you wear Wranglers. You don’t wear Levi’s; you don’t wear anything else. They’re so synonymous. It’s like we’re all in the same marrow. And our goal is to help them sell jeans as well because they are so supportive.
Q: Is being a professional cowboy a full-time job?
Hatchell: Oh, yeah. His only limitations are the number of events he can go to in a year. If you’re a roper, let’s say, or a steer wrestler, you can go to 75 events. If you’re a rider, you can go to 100 events.
Q: Favorite movie?
Hatchell: “As Good As It Gets.”
Q: Favorite actor?
Hatchell: ROBERT REDFORD.Q: Favorite piece of music?
 |
| Hatchell Looks To 16th
President For Good Quotes |
Hatchell: I get a hard time all the time over it, but the group I really get a kick out of, that I really like, is Van Halen. I also like Crosby, Stills & Nash. We go to the symphony a lot in Dallas, and all of the Rachmaninoff concerts are always terrific. I’m probably all over the gamut. Since I’ve been in this job my new guy is TOBY KEITH.
Q: What are you reading?
Hatchell: I just finished “The Outlaw Sea.” It’s about the chaos, the crime, the freedom of the open seas, from what gets shipped. Nobody knows what’s on the high seas today.
Q: Favorite quote:
Hatchell: Anything by ABRAHAM LINCOLN. I have a book that I keep here, “Lincoln on Leadership.”
