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Sponsorships for Pro Bull Riders Tour Surge 25%

Pro Bull Riders Tour Sponsorships Surge 25%

(Bloomberg) -- Professional Bull Riders is forecasting a 25% bump in sponsorship revenue this season, including deals with new partners that include the U.S. Concealed Carry Association, a gun-rights group.

It’s the biggest year-over-year sponsorship jump since Endeavor Group Holdings Inc., the Hollywood talent agency and media business led by Ari Emanuel, bought the circuit in 2015, said PBR Chief Executive Officer Sean Gleason.

Gleason said partnering with a pro-gun group like the Concealed Carry makes sense for PBR, given that the “vast majority” of fans are Second Amendment supporters. The association bills itself as a membership group that offers training and education, along with legal protection for gun owners who need an attorney after using their firearm.

“Our job is not to be middle of the road,” Gleason said in an interview. “We’ve got to lean into the values that are represented by our audience and the values that we believe our brand should stand for.”

Socially Conscious

Some socially conscious investors are dumping investments in gun companies and looking to see if other businesses they invest in, like banks, have ties to the industry. Last year, Connecticut decided to divest holdings in firearms makers and said it would encourage banks and money managers seeking business with the state to disclose any ties to gun makers.

Michael Bloomberg, the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent of Bloomberg News, is founder of Everytown for Gun Safety, a nonprofit group that advocates for gun control measures like universal background checks.

Besides Concealed Carry, PBR’s other new sponsors are Union Home Mortgage Corp., K&N Air Filters, the all-terrain vehicle company Can-Am and the Palladium Hotel Group.

Sponsorships for Pro Bull Riders Tour Surge 25%

PBR’s 20-or-so existing sponsors also include the U.S. Border Patrol, Coors, Caterpillar Inc., Lucas Oil Products Inc. and Wrangler, which is a part of Kontoor Brands Inc.

According to PBR, which makes its annual stop at Madison Square Garden in New York City this week, its fans are more likely to buy sponsors’ products than those of the big-four U.S. sports: the NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL. According to PBR, 58% of its consumers bought from a sponsor in the past year specifically because of that relationship.

PBR has a TV rights deal with CBS, which averaged 1.2 million viewers per broadcast last year.

“It would be disingenuous to try to tell the world that we’re something we’re not, and that’s part of the decisions we’ve made along the way with respect to how we’ve positioned our brand,” Gleason said. “That’s why we’ve resonated so well with such a large group of people in the U.S. -- and that isn’t everyone.”

To contact the reporters on this story: Scott Soshnick in New York at ssoshnick@bloomberg.net;Eben Novy-Williams in New York at enovywilliam@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nick Turner at nturner7@bloomberg.net, Rob Golum, Linus Chua

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