CBS Sports and Tough Mudder Inc., the company behind mud-filled obstacle-course events, are on board with a partnership that brings Tough Mudder competitions to CBS network, cable’s CBS Sports Network and CBSSports.com beginning this fall. The TV series will look at World’s Toughest Mudder, the 24-hour extreme endurance race in which participants compete for $100,000 in Las Vegas November 12-13, and a new event called Toughest Mudder.
In 2016 and 2017, CBS Sports will air an in-depth look at World’s Toughest Mudder. The 2016 edition debuts on CBS network Christmas Day 2016, at 3 p.m. ET.
Also in December, CBS Sports Network airs Road to the World’s Toughest Mudder, as well as a roundtable show airing immediately after World’s Toughest Mudder on Christmas.
Related: Moonves Says CBS, Showtime Have 2 Million Total OTT Subs
“The perseverance, strength, camaraderie and drama surrounding the Tough Mudder participants and events are made for television,” said Dan Weinberg, executive VP, programming, CBS Sports. “We’re excited to showcase the action to our viewers, while extending our portfolio of programming into a new area of sports competition.”
Demanding competition series with uplifting contestants, including American Ninja Warrior on NBC, Strong on NBC and American Grit on Fox, are enjoying a bit of a heyday on television. Netflix also has one in the works called Ultimate Beastmaster.
Related: CBS Reports Higher Earnings for Second Quarter
Tough Mudder, Inc. will debut a new event series, Toughest Mudder, in 2017, with at least six events across North America and the United Kingdom. CBS Sports Network will air programming from the entire series, while CBS Sports Digital will feature live streaming coverage of the events on CBSSports.com and the CBS Sports apps for mobile devices and connected TVs.
Toughest Mudder is an eight-hour, overnight race.
Related: Weeknight Warriors on Tap for Spring, Summer
“We are thrilled to partner with CBS Sports on this endeavor and to introduce our newest event series to the world,” said Will Dean, founder and CEO of Tough Mudder, Inc. “This partnership enables us to further grow our community through another event series and to further expand Mudder Nation beyond its nearly 2.5 million global participants. We are excited for the opportunity to bring the Tough Mudder story to life to millions more people through our partnership with CBS Sports and to introduce Toughest Mudder to people around the world.”
Tough Mudder Inc. debuted in 2010, an event series of a 10-12 mile course with military-style obstacles for weekend warriors. It will put on more than 120 events worldwide in 2016.
