PBR - Professional Bull Riders

Professional Bull Riders, Inc. (PBR) is an international professional bull riding organization based in Pueblo, Colorado, USA. PBR events are televised on CBS, CBS Sports Network, NBC, NBC Sports Network, and YouTube. More than 800 cowboys from the U.S., Canada, Brazil, Australia, and Mexico hold PBR memberships.

The organization began in 1992 through the efforts of 21 professional bull riders, who gathered in a hotel room in Scottsdale, Arizona and each contributed $1000. Since that time, the organization has grown to include four tours which collectively stage over 300 events worldwide every year. Prize money has exploded from $250,000 in 1994 to over $11 million in 2008.
The PBR's premier tour, the Built Ford Tough Series, includes 31 events across the country every year. Pyrotechnics, pulsating music and special effects open each event, and each features the top 30 riders in the world at the time (plus 10 alternates). The season culminates in Las Vegas, where the PBR World Finals are held.

Riders attempt to stay on a bucking bull for eight seconds, and rides are judged based on both the rider's and the bull's performance, with two judges scoring the rider and two scoring the bull. At the end of each event, the top 15 riders compete in the short round, or "short go"; the rider with the highest point total from the entire event becomes the winner.
Since 2007, PBR also hosts a team competition format called PBR World Cup, where 25 bull riders (altogether representing 5 different countries) compete to win the title of best bull riders in the world.

Total viewership, including event attendees and the television audience, grew 51.93 percent between 2002 and 2004. In 2004, 16.4 million fans watched or attended a PBR event. In 2008, over 100 million watched the PBR on television, and over 1.7 million attended a live event.
Randy Bernard became CEO of the PBR in 1995, a position he held until he resigned in 2010 to become the CEO of the Indy Racing League. On February 23, 2011, the PBR announced that Jim Haworth had become its new CEO.
Canada, Brazil, Australia, and Mexico each have their own PBR tours, and money earned on those tours counts towards the U.S. qualifier standings and a spot in the PBR World Finals.

The PBR publishes its own magazine, Pro Bull Rider, six times a year. - Wikipedia