Dish Saddles Up for The American on RFD

Dish will be presenting sponsor of RFD-TV's broadcast of The American, a one-day rodeo with a $1 million top prize and$2.5 million in prize money.

The Feb. 25 event will originate at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Tex.--coverage on RFD-TV and co-owned Cowboy Channel starts at 3 p.m.--and will include new Dish-backed prizes, $5,000 for most promising up-and-comer and another $5,000 "Back in the Saddle" payout for an "up-and comebacker," as it were.

The American features seven events: bareback, barrel racing, saddle bronc and bull riding, steer wrestling, team roping, and tie-down roping. Anyone can qualify and those who do get to go up against the sports big names for a finals check of $100,000, and their piece of the “American Dream” $1 million pie.

Dish was the first major national carrier to add rural-themed net RFD-TV and The Cowboy Channel, according to channel founder Patrick Gottsch in announcing the Dish sponsorship.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.