World Surf League, PBR sign Brazilian rights deals

Pay-television sports broadcaster ESPN Brasil has extended its rights to the World Surf League, while Brazilian telco Bandeirantes has agreed a deal with the Professional Bull Riders organisation.

ESPN’s two-year extension with the WSL covers the league’s 2018 and 2019 seasons, granting it exclusive pay-television and digital media rights.

ESPN has covered the WSL since 2010, with Brazilian surfers having a healthy presence in the league. Brazil is set to have a record 11 participants this season, including 2014 world champion Gabriel Medina and 2015 winner Adriano de Souza (pictured).

Meanwhile, the TerraViva Channel and BandSports, both units of Bandeirantes, have sealed a five-year agreement to televise PBR events in Brazil.

PBR events, including 10 events in the PBR Championship in Brazil, as well as highlights of 27 events from the sport’s elite series, the 25th PBR: Unleash the Beast from the US, will be carried on TV Terraviva, an agricultural channel which reaches 36 million homes, as well as BandSports, available in six million homes. Under the agreement, PBR news and highlights will also be seen on Bandnews.

The new broadcast relationship in Brazil was brokered by the IMG Media agency. Endeavor, the holding company of the WME and IMG agencies, acquired PBR in 2015.

The PBR Championship in Brazil is the country’s leading bull riding organisation and the only Brazilian bull riding tour that is part of a Global Championship. Riders competing in the Brazil Series qualify for the PBR Finals in Brazil and the elite 25th PBR: Unleash the Beast in the US. There are 13 Brazilian tour events scheduled in 2018. 

“This new relationship providing PBR with coverage throughout Brazil on two channels and additional news and promotion of the sport on BandSports, TV Terraviva and BandNews, will help bring PBR to new audiences and help the sport continue to grow in a country extremely passionate about bull riding,” Martha Cajado, chief executive of PBR Brazil, said.

PBR is celebrating its 25th season, and Brazilian athletes have made a significant mark in the sport since Adriano Moraes won the first PBR World Championship. One third of the qualified riders in the sport’s elite series are Brazilian, and five of the top 10 all-time earners in PBR are Brazilian riders.