Scripps Sports and PBR Announce Multi-Year Broadcast Partnership for Premier Womens Rodeo

Scripps Sports has announced a multi-year broadcast partnership with PBR (Professional Bull Riders) to bring Premier Women's Rodeo (PWR) to ION and Grit. The partnership launches with the 2026 PWR Championship on Sunday, May 17, at 1 p.m. ET, broadcast from Fort Worth, Texas.

In 2027, the partnership expands to include the original series PWR: Road to the Championship on Grit, along with the 2027 PWR Championship on both ION and Grit. ION and Grit will broadcast a minimum of 18 hours of women's rodeo programming over 16 broadcasts in 2027.

Premier Women's Rodeo embodies the dynamic, high-energy competition that today's audiences are actively seeking, and we're honored to serve as the national platform for this exceptional sport, says Brian Lawlor, President, Scripps Sports. This partnership reinforces our strategic commitment to elevating women's sports, authentic storytelling and competitive excellence, and we're excited to introduce this growing sport to viewers nationwide.

Premier Women's Rodeo further strengthens our leading portfolio of women's sports and fits in perfectly with the evolution of Grit into a more contemporary Western network, says Keisha Taylor Starr, General Manager, Scripps Networks and Chief Marketing Officer, Scripps. Grit is where the spirit of adventure and Western values come alive, and the amazing athletes of PWR are modern trailblazers whose stories, in and out of the arena, will engage a new generation of fans.

PWR represents the next chapter in the evolution of Western sports, and this partnership with Scripps Sports gives us an unprecedented national platform to showcase it at scale, says Sean Gleason, CEO and Commissioner, PBR. With ION and Grit, we're expanding the reach of PWR to millions of households while elevating the visibility of some of the most talented and compelling athletes in sports today. This partnership will bring powerful storytelling to the forefront and accelerate the growth of women's rodeo in a meaningful way.

PWR builds on the platform established by the Women's Rodeo Championships (WRC) and its Women's Rodeo World Championship (WRWC), established in 2020. ION reaches more than 126 million U.S. households through over-the-air broadcasting, pay-TV, connected television, and free ad-supported streaming. Grit will incorporate sports and original programming for the first time in its 12-year history as part of an evolution toward a contemporary Western lifestyle format.

ION's women's sports portfolio also includes the WNBA, NWSL, PWHL, Major League Volleyball, Pro Cheer League, and ATHLOS women's track and field.

LINK:	https://www.sportsvideo.org/2026/04/17/scripps-sports-and-pbr-announce...
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