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PBR continues to enjoy new connections under its new owner, WME-IMG.
Photo by: GETTY IMAGES
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Professional Bull Riders has signed seven new licensees heading into 2017, as the bull-riding series continues to enjoy newfound connections under WME-IMG.
The Colorado-based PBR, which will announce the news this week, signed deals with a range of companies, from bobblehead maker BobbleBoss to man-cave decor maker Open Road Brands. Some of the deals are in categories in which PBR already had a partner, such as with apparel licensee Affliction. Others will become the first in their categories, such as Bullhide Hats, a maker of cowboy hats. Other new brands are emblem maker Aminco USA, life-size poster maker Advanced Graphics, and hat company Outdoor Cap Co.
The addition of seven licensees takes PBR’s tally to 25 licensees.
John Sohigian, who became vice president of consumer products at the PBR last year, said the property leveraged its improving television ratings and growing social media following to attract licensees with more ability to scale at a national level.
“As those things continue to rise and our viewership continues to rise, we’re able to make a case that this is a mainstream sport,” Sohigian said. “From a broad perspective, we want to be in most categories, but we want partners who are established companies that, if they don’t control their space, they’re a major player in that space.”
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Licensee Affliction offers this PBR-branded T-shirt.
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Sohigian cited Affliction as an example.
“While we had T-shirt licensees, our folks we had were in one particular channel of distribution; one that was in mass, one that was in fashion retail,” he said. “We want to be upstairs, figure out a way to cross over and have a higher-quality good.”
In addition to the seven new licensees, PBR this week also is announcing renewals with Two Horns Wine and Midwest Glove. Sohigian said now that PBR has a more rounded-out stable of licensees, the next step is to strike deals with more retailers to get the products in stores. He declined to put a maximum number of licensees that PBR would like to have.
WME-IMG acquired PBR in April 2015 for a reported $100 million.
