FORT WORTH, TX – April 21, 2023 -- Rural Media Group, Inc. (RMG) announced today that it has entered into an assignment and assumption agreement with FloSports, Inc. to purchase and obtain the media rights license for the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association (CPRA). Effective immediately, RMG now owns the exclusive worldwide, global video rights and license to capture, sell, broadcast, stream, record, and/or distribute CPRA events for the next 5 years until December 31, 2027. And as the official media partner of the CPRA, RMG will begin broadcasting CPRA rodeos for the 2023 season on its linear networks, The Cowboy Channel and The Cowgirl Channel, while also working with CPRA-sanctioned rodeos to live stream and VOD additional events on RMG’s digital platform Cowboy Channel+. This new partnership builds upon RMG’s Canadian foothold with their already existing relationship broadcasting The Calgary Stampede on The Cowboy Channel every year in July along with the chuckwagon races.
“Canada and the U.S. have always had a common bond with their shared love of rodeo and the western lifestyle,” stated Patrick Gottsch, Founder of Rural Media Group, Inc. “The addition of these great Canadian rodeos will enhance and expand our international coverage of rodeo on both The Cowboy Channel and The Cowgirl Channel, which will excite and be embraced by our large and growing audiences on both sides of the border, and around the world.”
Under this new agreement, The Cowboy Channel will be the new home of the Canadian Finals Rodeo (CFR), which takes place every November in Red Deer, AB, along with the Maple Leaf Circuit Finals in Regina, SK, the SMS Equipment Pro Tour Finals and several other premier stops along the SMS Equipment Pro Tour including but not limited to: Wainwright, Ponoka and Strathmore, AB; Williams Lake and Armstrong, BC; Morris, MB and Regina; SK. Numerous Canadian pro rodeos will be part of The Cowboy Channel’s very popular 100 Rodeos in 100 Days schedule, which begins in June 2023 with Reno Rodeo and ends in September with the Pendleton Roundup.
“Rodeo is just as big in Canada as it is in the United States,” said Jeff Medders, The Cowboy Channel President and host of the NFR. “Whether it is fans traveling from Canada to the NFR in Las Vegas every December, or Canadian cowboys and cowgirls competing in PRCA rodeos to earn their spot to compete at the NFR, the sport of rodeo is growing by record numbers.”
“FloSports has been a fantastic partner for the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association for the last 5 years and we want to thank them for everything,” said Denny Phipps, General Manager of the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association. “We are very excited about our new relationship with Rural Media Group and the opportunity for our events to be broadcast on the Cowboy Channel, the Cowgirl Channel and the Cowboy Channel+ app. This move will allow fans to follow their favorite cowboys and cowgirls through the course of the season with a single broadcaster. Canada has some of the best rodeo action in the world, with top tier talent from both sides of the 49th competing, along with amazing animal athletes. We cannot wait to showcase these events on The Cowboy and Cowgirl Channels!“
CPRA events will primarily be on The Cowboy Channel, with overflow rodeos airing on The Cowgirl Channel. For those who live in Canada, it is important to note that all CPRA programming on The Cowboy Channel will also be simulcast on Cowboy Channel Canada and RFD-TV Canada, along with radio coverage on Rural Radio 147 on Sirius XM Canada.
More information about the CPRA on The Cowboy Channel and The Cowgirl Channel will be released soon. To stay up to date on future programming updates, news, and information, please sign up for our newsletters by visiting www.thecowboychannel.com and www.thecowgirlchannel.com
To find The Cowboy Channel on your cable/satellite system, please visit thecowboychannel.com/find-us-on-tv.
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ABOUT CANADIAN PROFESSIONAL RODEO ASSOCIATION (CPRA)
The Canadian Professional Rodeo Association with headquarters in Airdrie, Alberta is the official sanctioning body for Professional Rodeo in Canada. The CPRA approves 55 + events annually with a total payout exceeding $6 million. The organization oversees the SMS Equipment Pro Tour Finale each fall in Armstrong, BC, holds their premiere event–the Canadian Finals Rodeo (CFR)–at Westerner Park in Red Deer, AB in early November and endorses the Maple Leaf Circuit Finals as part of Canadian Western Agribition in Regina, SK. For further details, please go to RodeoCanada.com Facebook and Instagram: @prorodeocanadaofficial l Twitter: @prorodeocanada
ABOUT RURAL MEDIA GROUP, INC. (RMG)
Rural Media Group, Inc. is the world’s leading multimedia content provider dedicated to the rural and western lifestyle. With a mission of reconnecting “city with country,” RMG is the parent company of RFD-TV, RURAL RADIO Channel 147 on SiriusXM Radio, The Cowboy Channel, and The Cowgirl Channel. RMG networks are distributed worldwide by DBS, telco, and cable systems, including DISH, DIRECTV®, Comcast, AT&T U-Verse, Mediacom, Charter Spectrum, Suddenlink, Cox, and more than 600 independent rural cable systems. Corporate headquarters are in Omaha, Nebraska; broadcast operations are in Nashville, Tennessee, for RFD-TV and RURAL RADIO Channel 147 on SiriusXM Radio, and in Fort Worth, Texas, for The Cowboy Channel and The Cowgirl Channel.
ABOUT THE COWBOY CHANNEL
The Cowboy Channel is the Official Network of ProRodeo, and the Home of the National Finals Rodeo, broadcasting live from Las Vegas every December. Headquartered in the historic Fort Worth Stockyards, The Cowboy Channel is the first 24-hour television network dedicated to western sports and the western lifestyle. The programming features a wide variety of “live” coverage from major western sporting events showcasing the world’s toughest and most talented cowboys and cowgirls. The Cowboy Channel is available on cable/satellite systems on Altice, Charter Spectrum, DISH, DIRECTV®, AT&T U-Verse, Cox, Comcast, Mediacom, Verizon FIOS TV, and many other rural cable systems. The Cowboy Channel can all be streamed online via The Cowboy Channel Plus app at COWBOYCHANNELPLUS.COM, DIRECTV NOW, Roku, iOS, Android, Firestick, Apple TV, and Sling TV’s Heartland Extra package. For more information, please visit thecowboychannel.com.
Facebook: @CowboyChannel | Twitter: @Cowboy_Channel | Instagram: @TheCowboyChannel
ABOUT THE COWGIRL CHANNEL
The Cowgirl Channel is a 24-hour television network featuring content centered around women in western sports and the modern-day cowgirl. The network primarily broadcasts programming around barrel racing and breakaway roping plus western fashion, western home shopping, and the everyday cowgirl lifestyle. The programming lineup also features many live western sporting events from around the country. The Cowgirl Channel is owned by parent company, Rural Media Group, and is the sister network to The Cowboy Channel. The Cowgirl Channel is currently available on Dish Network 269, and available for live streaming on Cowboy Channel+. Headquarters and new studios for The Cowgirl Channel are in the Historic Fort Worth Stockyards in Fort Worth, Texas. For more information, please visit www.thecowgirlchannel.com.
Facebook: @officialcowgirlchannel | Instagram: @officialcowgirchannel | Twitter: @cowgirlchannel | TikTok: @cowgirlchannel
