WE WANTED TO CREATE A BETTER PRODUCT FOR THE FANS... -Ty-Murray 2000’S

Jim Haworth became PBR’s CEO in 2011 before becoming Chairman in 2015, when Sean Gleason took over the CEO role. That same year, Endeavor, a major multimedia organization that owns some of the most prominent entertainment properties in the world, acquired the business, further spurring its growth.

In 2020, rodeo sports across America took a hit due to COVID-19. The PBR wasn’t immune to virus-related protocols, but cowboys always pull through in a pinch. After some cancellations, the cowboys geared up and hit the arena at events closed to fans, helping prevent the spread of the virus. The cowboys initially rode to empty arenas but later invited audiences back on a socially-distanced basis. That year, the PBR also launched Cowboys for a Cause, which features sponsored teams of three bull riders competing for money that they donate to a charitable cause.

However, this challenging time would also lay the foundation for the PBR Team Challenge, which put the best of the best up against one another in teams representing various sponsors. This event series became the precursor to the PBR Team Series format that the PBR launched in 2022, which now runs through the summer and fall of each year. In this event series, the teams represent various regions, giving locals a home team to root for whenever the Team Series passes through their hometown. The tour culminates with a finale event at T-Mobile Arena in Vegas. The champion team earns a $700,000 bonus and a trophy shaped like a giant belt buckle, and each team member of the winning team wins their own $150,000 bonus and championship gold buckle.

Today’s PBR tours include the Premier Series, Touring Pro Division, Velocity Tour, Team Series, Challenger Series, and a series of International Tours. The organization’s sponsors include Monster Energy, US Border Patrol, Pluto TV, Wrangler, Tractor Supply Co., and Cooper Tires. Since its inception, the PBR has awarded more than $300 million in prize money.

In 2018, the PBR launched RidePass, the league’s 24/7 digital network, to grow the organization and share the rodeo community’s love of bull riding in general. As of 2021, avid rodeo fans can tune into RidePass on PlutoTV for hours of PBR bull riding and behind-the-scene rodeo coverage. PBR television broadcasts are some of the most popular programs on television.