How Teton Ridge is roping in new fans for rodeo and Western sports

Feeling the inexplicable urge to shout “yeehaw” or rock a pair of cowboy boots? You’re not the only one.

Due perhaps in part to the rise of popular Western-themed shows, from Paramount’s Yellowstone to Netflix’s Ransom Canyon, the Wild, Wild West has had plenty of screentime, and there’s about to be even more. Western sports media and entertainment company Teton Ridge recently rolled out its first-ever slate of original programming after acquiring the Cowboy Channel last year, with the new originals representing the company’s push to modernize and grow Western sports like rodeo, bull riding, barrel racing, and roping ahead of next month’s National Finals Rodeo, according to the company’s former CEO, Deirdre Lester.

“If we are now reaching a broader audience, and we want to bring people into this universe, we need to do that through not just giving them access to live sports, but also storytelling around that,” Lester, who announced she would be stepping down after speaking with Marketing Brew, said; private equity exec Shawn Colo is taking over as executive chairman.

First rodeo

The Cowboy Channel has traditionally been known for airing live or replayed rodeo content, but when Teton Ridge acquired it last November, it was with the goal of pivoting to an omnichannel approach, Lester said. The new slate of originals will roll out on its streaming service, Cowboy Channel+, as well as on free streaming services and social media platforms, with the “intention of reaching a broader audience” that includes younger viewers, she said.

That content spans documentary-style programming following individual athletes (like bareback rider Rocker Steiner and barrel racing champ Hailey Kinsel), series spotlighting different disciplines, and lifestyle-oriented content including a show about an iconic ranch in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and the family that runs it.

Shoulder programming, including behind-the-scenes videos on social and fully produced docuseries, has become a key marketing tool for sports leagues and organizations, and for Teton Ridge, Lester said the strategy is part of a broader effort to level up its content, including live events. The focus, she said, is to become more “on par with other professional sports in terms of the way the viewer experiences it.”

To evaluate whether the shoulder programming is doing its job, the Teton Ridge team is tracking viewership, engagement, and sentiment, Lester said. The documentary about Steiner, Hell on Wheels, racked up more than 6 million views across YouTube, linear, and social platforms after only three episodes aired, she said, proof to Lester that, although Steiner is a controversial figure in the rodeo world, audiences love an antihero.

“I was curious to see what the sentiment [was] going to be, and it has been wildly positive,” Lester told us. “People love him. They love the story.”

As all things rodeo and cowboy experience a surge in popularity, Teton Ridge is also creating content that goes beyond the action and the athletes. In addition to the Jackson Hole show, Diamond Cross Ranch, the content slate includes a social-first program called Get Rodeo with Me starring Sierra Spratt, a former roper who is now a TV journalist, which Lester said is meant to display the fashion scene surrounding rodeo.

Saddle up

Like any sports organization, sponsorship is “hugely important” to Teton Ridge’s business, Lester said; so far, many of its sponsors have been brands that are endemic to the Western sports and lifestyle space. (Past and current sponsors include Tractor Supply and OptiWize, a company that makes supplements not only for people and household pets, but also horses and other livestock.) Lately, Lester said Teton Ridge has been making more of an effort to get non-endemic brands into Western sports, which have been “untapped, for the most part” by major advertisers.

To help lasso in potential sponsors, the Teton Ridge team is touting the large, live audience for rodeos that is fairly equally split between men and women, according to Lester.

“You have grandparents in the stands, you have families, you have younger kids that love this, you have the college girls and guys coming out because rodeo is fun and cool and it’s a party,” she said. “It is really interestingly multigenerational.”

With more than 600 sanctioned rodeos taking place across North America throughout the year, including the National Finals Rodeo, “the culmination of the season” coming up in Las Vegas in December, Lester said she hoped the influx of content would help drive interest in live events. That’s not the only audience that matters, though, as Western sports continue to crop up in mainstream culture.

“A viewer is a viewer,” Lester said. “If they’re on YouTube, or they’re just watching our TikToks, and that’s the extent of their interest for now, that’s okay, but the goal is to create real fandom and pull as many people as we can into our ecosystem through all of this storytelling.”