Professional Bull Riders CEO Sean Gleason joins Caroline Woods at the NYSE to discuss how bull riding is matching the demand of the NBA and Taylor Swift. Gleason explains how being under the TKO Group Holdings ($TKO) umbrella with UFC and WWE has put the league’s growth “on steroids” for its 80 million fans.
00:00 Introduction
00:29 MSG sellouts and rising popularity
01:23 Lessons from WWE and UFC
02:16 Advantages of the TKO deal
03:37 Growth beyond core markets
04:43 Why fans are still spending
05:22 Streaming on Paramount+ and CBS
06:17 What’s next for PBR
07:11 Age and career of bull riders
08:53 Prize money and scoring
10:12 Investor takeaway
Transcript:
Caroline Woods:
Bull riding is selling out Madison Square Garden, just like the NBA and Taylor Swift. And it’s not just a weekend show. It’s part of a huge growth play for TKO. Joining me now, Sean Gleason, CEO of Professional Bull Riders (PBR). Sean, great to have you here.
Sean Gleason:
Good to be on. Thanks for having me. Congratulations on ringing the bell.
Caroline Woods:
You have a big event this weekend, I know, but I have to say I’m shocked at the popularity of bull riding. When did it become the it ticket for New York City, Boston, and other key cities?
Sean Gleason:
You know, I’ve been there 25 years, so it hasn’t always been this great. The first year at Madison Square Garden, we were handing tickets out on the sidewalk to anyone who would come in. Now we’ve had back-to-back sellouts last year and this year — three-day sellouts. The engine that really started it was when we were acquired by WME-IMG, which became Endeavor. And now, being acquired by TKO and having UFC and WWE as sister companies gives you a lot of expertise, help, and support. It’s really put our growth on steroids.
Caroline Woods:
I wanted to ask you about that. With WWE and UFC being part of the same company, do you trade secrets about how to make sports go viral? What have you learned from those organizations that’s helped you grow?
Sean Gleason:
Yeah, absolutely. Our marketing teams share a lot of information and we integrate a lot. From a booking perspective, WWE and UFC have often been in the same venues as we have, sometimes more. There’s a lot of shared knowledge and collaboration. We were just in Stamford at WWE headquarters filming TV packages for broadcast. It’s an incredible opportunity for PBR to be in the same vein as those organizations. And we share a lot of customers — the fan bases of UFC, WWE, and PBR have a lot of similarities.
Caroline Woods:
What strategic advantages have you had since being acquired by TKO?
Sean Gleason:
Definitely the cross-collaboration. Being able to tap into the data, tools, and knowledge that UFC and WWE have has been huge. PBR has developed strong systems and best practices over the years, and sharing those leads to efficiency and better use of marketing dollars. We negotiate better deals in buildings and have more sponsorship opportunities. The TKO sponsorship group has leveraged UFC, WWE, and PBR together — most recently announcing a big Dodge deal across all properties. It’s opened a lot of doors and created real momentum.
Caroline Woods:
Over 200 events annually, more than a million tickets sold, and 80 million fans tuning in. Are you seeing this growth outside of traditional markets like MSG and Boston’s TD Garden?
Sean Gleason:
Absolutely. We sell out Sacramento, just sold out Chicago, and we’ll be in the Northwest later this year — those will sell out too. It’s been a fortunate run built on a lot of hard work. Four or five years ago, we launched a team series in the summer. We took one of the most individual sports in the world and turned it into a five-on-five, team-based sport with ten franchises in cities like Austin and Nashville. That tour has been growing like crazy.
Caroline Woods:
With a choppy economy and consumers pulling back, the fact that people are still spending on tickets is notable. Are fans just that loyal, or are they looking for an escape?
Sean Gleason:
I think it’s both. Our core fans will save what they need to attend events they’ve gone to for years. But people are also prioritizing experiences over goods. In this experience economy, entertainment is a great place to be.
Caroline Woods:
It’s not just ticket sales — you also have streaming with Unleash the Beast on Paramount+ and CBS. How does that help the business?
Sean Gleason:
We’ve been on CBS for about 15 years and have a great partnership. With the merger, we were able to put together a streaming deal with Paramount+. Every ride from the Unleash the Beast series is now in one place. Our CBS broadcasts often rank as the second or third most-watched sport on a weekend behind the NFL. Bull riding doesn’t always get the credit it deserves, but the numbers are strong.
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