Cowboy Channel Ropes Viewers With 100 Rodeos in 100 Days

By Jon Lafayette
( Broadcasting & Cable )
published

Network showing and streaming up to six rodeos some weeks

Hailey Kinsel Cowboy Channel Cheyenne Frontier Days
Barrel racing champion Hailey KInsel competes during Cheyenne Frontier Days (Image credit: Steve Wrubel Photography)

The Cowboy Channel and its sister network RFD-TV rounded up 8.3 million viewers in July, halfway through its summer campaign promoting “100 Rodeos in 100 Days.”

The Cowboy Channel became the office network of ProRodeo in 2019. This year’s coverage of The Calgary Stampede delivered more than 1.6 million viewers, according to Nielsen figures,  and Cheyenne Frontier Days roped 2.1 million viewers.

Also Read: Cowboy Channel Founder Giving Rodeo Finals Tickets to First Responders

Bareback rider Caleb Bennett interviewed by Janie Johnson

Bareback rider Caleb Bennett interviewed by Janie Johnson (Image credit: Steve Wrubel Photography)

"What makes the ‘100 Rodeos in 100 Days’ so unique is the fact that rodeo fans have never had the opportunity to watch tons of live rodeo every day and night on television,” said Raquel Gottsch Koehler, CEO of The Cowboy Channel.

“We are doing something unique, as rodeo has always had fans who love the sport, but before The Cowboy Channel, there never was a way to follow the regular ProRodeo season,” she said. “Most networks who once had the media rights would create a highlight show on only a handful of rodeos each year, and then that would air at a later date, several weeks after the competition was over. There are over 650 ProRodeos every year, with the majority taking place during the summer. Rodeo is a live sporting event, and deserves its place in primetime programming, just like every other sport.”

Over the summer, the Cowboy Channel is broadcasting live from as many as four rodeos each week. Its OTT service Cowboy Channel Plus is live streaming as many as six rodeos at a time.

Also Read: Cowboy Channel Sets Broadcast, Stream from National Finals Rodeo

Sponsors for “100 Rodeos in 100 Days” include Justin Boots, American Hat Company, Ariat, Dish Network and Priefert.

The “100 Rodeos” started June 17 with the Reno Rodeo, which unofficially kicks off the ProRodeo season. It will run through September with live coverage of the Ellensburg Rodeo, the Pendleton Round-Up and the ProRodeo Tour Finale

The promotion has also been a hit on social media, with the Cowboy Channel getting 12.3 million video view on its Facebook page and 4.37 million video views on Instagram.

Jon Lafayette
Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.