ProRodeo Sports News - April 28, 2023

SHORT ROUND

Canadian Pro Rodeos added to The Cowboy Channel O Canada

R ural Media Group, Inc. (RMG) announced recently 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 five years until December 31, 2027. And as the official media partner of the CPRA, RMG will

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, Alberta, along with the Maple Leaf Circuit Finals in Regina, Sask., 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, Alberta; Williams Lake and Armstrong, British Columbia; Morris, Manitoba and Regina, Sask. 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. 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.

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 Plus. 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

WPRA 75th Exhibit opening at Hall of Fame The Women’s Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA) and the ProRodeo Hall of Fame have the ProRodeo Hall of Fame. “

The gallery is filled with milestones of the WPRA, complete with clothing styles throughout the various decades. The largest clothing display was made possible by the family of the late Gayle Ann Brannon, who qualified for the NFR in 1973. Also featured are Top 15 NFR group images spanning 64 years with every year represented from 1974 through 2022, courtesy of Kenneth Springer. There is also special recognition to the All-Girls Rodeo, WPRA Breakaway Roping and the equine partners. “We would like to thank the ProRodeo Hall of

teamed up to bring fans and visitors an inside look at the history, members, and legends of the oldest women’s sports organization in the world through a special exhibit. This year the exhibit is in honor of the WPRA’s 75th anniversary. The exhibit will officially open on Monday, May 1, when the ProRodeo Hall of Fame transitions from winter hours to summer hours, open seven days a week from 9 am to 5 pm. The exhibit is in the 101 Gallery and will remain up through mid-September. “We couldn’t think of a better way to honor and celebrate WPRA’s 75th and we believe our visitors will love this very unique and informative display,” said Kent Sturman, Director of

Fame for giving us this opportunity to bring our history to life through this special exhibit during our anniversary year,” said Jimmie Munroe, President of the WPRA.

ProRodeo Sports News 4/28/2023

ProRodeo.com

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