COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The first of ten PRCA rodeos to be broadcast on In Country Television (ICTV) launches this weekend. Tune in Saturday, March 6 at 8:00 p.m. ET to watch the championship round of the $1 million San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo.
In Country Television will air 30 hours of Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association coverage in 2010, including all eight Gold rodeos on the Wrangler Million Dollar Tour, presented by Justin Boots.
ICTV, which reaches 32 million households through the DISH Network (channel 230) and Direct TV (channel 344), will also air coverage of the All American ProRodeo Finals in Waco, Texas, and the Dodge National Circuit Finals Rodeo in Pocatello, Idaho.
A webcast of the entire performance will also be available simultaneously on ICTV’s website, www.incountrytelevision.com, under the Watch ICTV tab. Viewers will need Flash Player installed on their computers in order to watch the performance.
ICTV has assembled an all-star broadcast team, which will be comprised of six-time World Champion All-Around Cowboy Larry Mahan, ProRodeo Hall of Fame bullfighter Rob Smets, PRCA announcer Tim Fuller and former Miss Rodeo Virginia Charli Wacker.
ICTV’s rodeo coverage gets off to a dramatic start March 6 with San Antonio, one of only two PRCA regular-season rodeos offering more than $1 million in prize money, the five-time and reigning PRCA Large Indoor Rodeo of the Year and the richest event on the Wrangler Million Dollar Tour.
The Wrangler Million Dollar Tour is the centerpiece of the PRCA season, linking 22 of ProRodeo’s most prestigious events. There are two levels of competition, with those designated Gold rodeos offering a committee purse of at least $20,000 in each event and Silver rodeos a committee purse of at least $10,000 per event.
The complete schedule of 8 p.m. ET first-run broadcasts follows (for re-broadcast dates check local listings):
Rodeo Air date
March 6
San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo
April 10
Rodeo Austin
April 24/May 1
Dodge National Circuit Finals Rodeo (Pocatello, Idaho)
July 10
Reno (Nev.) Rodeo
July 24/July 31
Cody (Wyo.) Stampede/St. Paul (Ore.) Rodeo
August 7
California Rodeo Salinas
August 14
Cheyenne (Wyo.) Frontier Days Rodeo
September 18
Ellensburg (Wash.) Rodeo
October 10/November 6
All American ProRodeo Finals
“The PRCA is very pleased to offer our fans more television coverage of this great sport in 2010,” said PRCA Commissioner Karl Stressman. “We look forward to a strong, successful partnership with In Country, as we continue to work very hard to take the sport of professional rodeo to the next level.”
In Country Television, based in Greenwood Village, Colo., is owned by Performance One Media. It began providing programming for outdoor enthusiasts last year on DISH Network and was added to the Direct TV lineup in January.
“In Country Television is proud to be working with the PRCA to bring rodeo fans everywhere great coverage of the 2010 Wrangler Million Dollar Tour Gold events, the Dodge National Circuit Finals Rodeo and the All American ProRodeo Finals,” said Michael Norton, Senior Vice President of In Country Television.
