The memories may be exhilarating, painful or both, but the Professional Bull Riders will open the chute to many of the top moments over its first 20 years with a retrospective series on RFD-TV.
Debuting May 1 at 8 p.m. (ET), RFD-TV will televise PBR 20-20, showcasing the Professional Bull Riders Built Ford Tough Series’ top 20 moments, celebrating the circuit's 20th anniversary.
Each 90-minute PBR 20-20 episode has been carefully restored for broadcast, and includes some footage that has not been seen outside the PBR vault since it first aired some 20 years ago.
“This is a great way for our combined legions of Western sports and bull riding fans across rural America to come together for this epic, 20-part, broadcast event. I look forward to watching Ty Murray, Cody Lambert, Ted Nuce, Michael Gaffney, Adriano Moraes and all the other greats,” said Randy Bernard, CEO of Rural Media Group, parent company to RFD-TV and FamilyNet. Bernard, who previously served as the CEO of PBR, was influential in bringing this broadcast to the nearly 42 million households served by RFD-TV. Deal terms were not disclosed.
PBR industry veterans helped select the events they felt best represented how why the PBR’s Built Ford Tough Series has become the world's top circuit. The first 12 weeks will feature the rankest competitions, including the 2001 St. Louis event, where PBR riders produced 11 90+ rides, and historical moments, such as all four of PBR’s 96.5-point rides, the highest-marked rides in PBR history. PBR 20-20 also includes the Friday night from the 1999 PBR World Championships, which produced the single best ride in bull riding history.
“There is no better way to celebrate PBR’s 20th anniversary than by taking a trip down memory lane with RFD-TV,” said noted PBR COO Sean Gleason. “Some of the greatest bull riding events in history have been locked in the vaults over the past 20 years and this is the first opportunity that anyone will have to see them.”
Fans of the PBR, whose current campaign airs on CBS Sports Network and CBS, can vote on their favorite circuit memories and best moments from the last 20 years on the official RFD-TV and PBR FaceBooks pages and comment and live tweet at #RFDTVPBR @OfficialRFDTV and @PBR. Tweets are now being tabulated and monitored and will factor in the selection process of the remaining installments of the series.
These events are scheduled to air in the following order:
1. Nashville, Tenn., 1997
2. Tampa, Fla., 2000
3. St. Louis, Mo., 2001
4. 1999 World Championships
5. Nashville, Tenn., 1994
6. St. Louis, Mo., 2000
7. 1996 World Championships
8. Fort Worth, Texas 2002
9. Anaheim, Calif., 1998
10.Colorado Springs, Colo., 2003
11.Tampa Bay, Fla.,1999
12. Albuquerque, N.M., 2000
