Scripps Sports secures multi-year partnership with Premier Women’s Rodeo
Rhea-AI Summary
Scripps Sports (NYSE:SSP) secured a multi-year exclusive U.S. broadcast partnership to carry Premier Women’s Rodeo (PWR) on ION and Grit beginning May 2026. The 2026 PWR Championship airs Sunday, May 17, 2026 at 1 p.m. ET, and 2027 expands to a minimum of 18 hours across 16 broadcasts plus an original series on Grit.
The deal positions PWR for national exposure to ION’s reach of more than 126 million U.S. households and marks Grit’s first targeted sports/original sports series as it evolves its programming.
AI-generated analysis. Not financial advice.
Positive
- Exclusive U.S. TV home for PWR on ION and Grit
- 2026 PWR Championship airing May 17, 2026 at 1 p.m. ET
- Minimum 18 hours of women’s rodeo programming over 16 broadcasts in 2027
- Grit to debut original series “PWR: Road to the Championship” in 2027
- ION distribution reaches more than 126 million U.S. households
Negative
- No financial terms disclosed for the multi-year partnership
- Initial 2026 exposure limited to a single championship broadcast on May 17, 2026
News Market Reaction – SSP
On the day this news was published, SSP declined 0.62%, reflecting a mild negative market reaction.
Data tracked by StockTitan Argus on the day of publication.
Key Figures
Market Reality Check
Peers on Argus
SSP is up 10.07% on strong volume while key peers show mixed moves: CURI +1.22%, IHRT +1.29%, GTN +1.97%, SGA -0.30%, MDIA -5.24%. Momentum scanner flags BBGI +11.08%, UONE +3.26%, FUBO -3.84%, suggesting SSP’s move is stock-specific rather than a broad sector rotation.
Previous Partnership Reports
| Date | Event | Sentiment | Move | Catalyst |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 12 | Women’s hockey deal | Positive | -2.4% | First-ever nationally televised PWHL game in the U.S. on ION. |
| May 15 | Ad-tech partnership | Positive | -0.8% | FreeWheel tie-up to grow advertising across women’s sports on ION. |
| Jun 13 | Content collaboration | Positive | -4.7% | WorkingNation special with Scripps News on age in the workforce. |
Past partnership announcements have typically seen negative next-day moves, so today’s strong positive reaction to a new women’s rodeo partnership deviates from that pattern.
In the last year, Scripps has repeatedly used partnerships to expand its content footprint, especially in women’s sports and social-issue programming. Deals have included national women’s hockey broadcasts, an ad-tech partnership to monetize women’s sports, and a content collaboration on workforce aging. Historically, these partnership headlines produced average moves of about -2.63% in the following session, so the current +10.07% move marks a notable shift in how the market responded to this type of news.
Historical Comparison
Over three prior partnership headlines, SSP’s average next-day move was -2.63%. Today’s +10.07% reaction to the PWR women’s rodeo deal stands out as a strong positive outlier versus that history.
Partnerships show a progression from social-issue programming and women’s hockey toward a broader, multi-property women’s sports portfolio anchored on ION and related networks.
Market Pulse Summary
This announcement adds Premier Women’s Rodeo content to Scripps’ growing women’s sports lineup, with ION and Grit carrying the 2026 PWR Championship and at least 18 hours of women’s rodeo programming in 2027. It leverages ION’s reach to over 126 million U.S. households and continues a partnership trend in women’s sports. Investors may watch future filings, earnings commentary, and advertising metrics to gauge how effectively these rights translate into revenue and audience growth.
AI-generated analysis. Not financial advice.
ION and Grit to become exclusive U.S. television home for PWR championship events
CINCINNATI, April 16, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Scripps Sports has entered into a comprehensive multi-year broadcast partnership with Professional Bull Riders (PBR), the global leader in bull riding entertainment, to bring Premier Women’s Rodeo (PWR) exclusively to Scripps’ national television networks ION and Grit beginning in May.
The partnership will launch with ION and Grit carrying the highly anticipated 2026 PWR Championship, broadcast from Fort Worth, Texas, on Sunday, May 17, at 1 p.m. ET. Building on this foundation, the collaboration will expand significantly in 2027 to include the original series “PWR: Road to the Championship” on Grit, offering all-inclusive coverage of the PWR season’s most compelling storylines and competitions, culminating with the 2027 PWR Championship airing across both ION and Grit. It will culminate with the 2027 PWR Championship airing across both ION and Grit. In 2027, ION and Grit will broadcast a minimum of 18 hours of women’s rodeo programming over 16 broadcasts.
PWR represents an ambitious new venture from PBR, leveraging the same strategic vision and operational excellence that established PBR as the leading force in Western sports entertainment. PWR is positioned to become the preeminent brand in the rapidly expanding women’s rodeo market, building on the platform established by the Women’s Rodeo Championships (WRC) and its flagship Women’s Rodeo World Championship (WRWC) – the industry’s richest women-only rodeo championship event, established in 2020.
“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,” said Brian Lawlor, president of 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,” said Keisha Taylor Starr, general manager of Scripps Networks and Scripps’ chief marketing officer. “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,” said PBR CEO and Commissioner Sean Gleason. “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.”
This PWR partnership further bolsters ION’s position as the leader in women’s sports, with a portfolio including national partnerships with the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL), Major League Volleyball (MLV), Pro Cheer League (PCL), ATHLOS women’s track and field and additional marquee properties.
ION reaches more than 126 million U.S. households through multiple distribution channels, including free over-the-air broadcasting, traditional pay-TV services, connected television platforms and free, ad-supported streaming services. Grit, the widely acclaimed Western and action entertainment network, will incorporate select sports and targeted original programming for the first time in its 12-year history as it evolves into a comprehensive contemporary Western lifestyle destination.
For more information on how to watch Grit, visit grittv.com. For more information on ION, visit iontelevision.com.
Media Contacts
Scripps – Jim Weiss - jim.weiss@scripps.com
PBR | PWR – Andrew Giangola – andrew.giangola@pbr.com
About Scripps Sports
Scripps Sports serves professional and college sports leagues, conferences and teams with local market depth and national broadcast reach. Scripps Sports currently has partnerships with the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL), Major League Volleyball (MLV), Pro Cheer League (PCL), ATHLOS track-and-field, the National Hockey League’s (NHL) 2020 and 2021 Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning, 2024 and 2025 Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers, 2023 Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights, the Utah Mammoth, the Las Vegas Aces of the WNBA, Denver Summit FC of the NWSL and the NCAA’s Big Sky Conference. Scripps Sports is owned by The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ: SSP).
About PWR (Premier Women’s Rodeo)
PWR is a new women’s rodeo brand owned and operated by PBR – the global leader in bull riding and part of TKO – built to become the premier business and competitive platform in women’s rodeo. A rebirth of the Women’s Rodeo Championships, which launched the Women’s Rodeo World Championship in 2020, PWR brings proven momentum, having paid nearly
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/49ba87c2-c0d8-48e0-b83b-63db4470bf68
