FORT WORTH, Texas — The Professional Bull Riders (PBR) have bucked Merit Street Media just six months after Dr. Phil McGraw announced his television network would broadcast league events.
PBR CEO Sean Gleason Thursday told WFAA Merit Street Media has failed to pay broadcast rights fees owed to the league.
The organizations formally began their partnership in July, when the deal seemed to be a match made in Cowboy heaven.
"There was so much promise for the partnership," Gleason said. "That's the most disappointing thing."
Watch the full interview with Sean Gleason here:
Both organizations are headquartered in Fort Worth. Each entity sought to rope in an audience from "Middle America."
"When I look at PBR, I say, ‘These are our people,'" McGraw said when he announced the partnership on his show in May. "I feel the men and women bull-riders, contractors, and really the fans represent the absolute heart and soul of America."
Gleason would not disclose how much money Merit Street Media owes PBR.
McGraw, who left daytime television in May 2023, started Merit Street earlier this year. Months after launching, the company laid off dozens of workers.
Merit Street Media representatives declined to interview Thursday, but shared the following statement:
"Merit Street agreed to work out its differences with PBR in a confidential proceeding which is ongoing. We were therefore surprised that PBR would publicly accuse us of violating our agreement when the facts are in dispute. And we are astonished that PBR has demanded that its programming be immediately removed from our network while discussions are ongoing. Merit Street will vigorously defend itself in the proceedings.”
Gleason said, flatly, PBR satisfied its end of the deal. The Professional Bull Riders extended Merit Street Media a longer grace period than they were obligated to, he said.
He added that the league also offered to make certain concessions that would've salvaged the partnership, but Merit Street Media rejected their offer.
"We definitely delivered every single thing we were required to, and then some," Gleason said.
PBR will now take its broadcasts' reigns. All events scheduled to air on Merit Street Media's network will be available live and free on RidePass on Pluto TV, PBR's YouTube channel, PBR's mobile app and PBR's smart TV app.
"In effectively 11 days, we've pieced together a distribution strategy that's going to make us available to anybody that has a TV they've bought in the last ten years and an internet connection," Gleason said.
But Gleason conceded the piecemeal streaming approach is probably not sustainable.
"We have a lot of content and I think we're going to need a partner that gets PBR and that wants to leverage our 80 million fans," he said.
Broadcast rights contracts are not as dependable as they used to be. Professional sports teams around the country are looking for new ways to generate revenue and reach their fans.
After Bally Sports declared bankruptcy, the Dallas Stars created their own streaming platform to carry games. The Dallas Mavericks partnered with WFAA to broadcast games over-the-air.
The Texas Rangers have not yet announced their plans for broadcasting games in 2025, though they are reportedly exploring a direct-to-consumer model.
Gleason said PBR does not rely as heavily on broadcast revenue as other sports leagues.
"We're not in a desperate situation," he said. "We have plenty of success in all areas of our business to have this be a hiccup and not a big problem."
The company said it will share more information about additional viewing options when they become available.
"Like any good cowboy should, we'll dust ourselves off, pull our hat down tighter, and figure out a better way to do it," Gleason concluded.