For the first time, the Premier Women’s Rodeo Championship will air on national television, marking a major step forward for the sport’s visibility and growth.
The Premier Women’s Rodeo Championship Weekend is almost here in Fort Worth Texas. Now, this event carries a bigger stage than just Cowtown Coliseum itself.
For the first time, PWR will be broadcast on national television. This is a milestone moment for the sport and the athletes who have been building toward it.
Through a new multi-year partnership, Scripps Sports will bring Premier Women's Rodeo to a national audience, with the 2026 PWR Championship airing May 17 from Fort Worth, Texas on ION and Grit.
It’s not just another livestream, this is a big shift.
A Bigger Stage Than Ever Before
Scripps Sports has quickly become a major player in live sports coverage, with partnerships across some of the biggest women’s leagues in the country, including the WNBA, NWSL, and PWHL.
Now, women’s rodeo joins that lineup.
ION alone reaches more than 126 million households, instantly expanding the reach of PWR and putting the sport in front of a national audience in a way it hasn’t seen before.
For years, the talent has been there, the competition has been at that level, but now the platform is catching up.
More Than Just One Event
The 2026 Championship broadcast is just the beginning.
Starting in 2027, the partnership will expand significantly, including a new series that they are calling “PWR: Road to the Championship” which is set to air on Grit. The series will follow athletes throughout the season, offering a deeper look into the behind the scenese stories, preparation, and competition that define women in rodeo.
That kind of exposure grows viewership but also grows the fan base for the sport and the incredible athletes within.
Rodeo continues to grow towards these opportunities. The Cowboy Channel for example has done monumental things for the industry. Now, a huge percentage of the rodeos taking place across the country all year long are streamed to a national audience.
From the growth of events like the Women’s Rodeo World Championship to the rise of high payout opportunities across the sport, women’s rodeo has been expanding rapidly over the past several years. The PWR is doing something different than typical associations.
The goal of the PWR, and the PBR (Professional Bull Riders) is to expand the fan base and the audience to more than just the typical rodeo family. This is why partnerships with outside media like Scripps is huge.
Now, with this national platform in place, that growth has somewhere to go, and the timing couldn’t be better.
What Comes Next
This partnership represents more than a broadcast deal. This is a kind of validation of the athletes, of the sport, and that women's rodeo belongs on the same stage as other major professional sport leagues. For a long time the conversation has been around growth and how to steward that.
Now the conversation is exposure. Starting this May, that exposure is going nationwide.