The Canadian Finals Rodeo (CFR) is the national championship professional rodeo in Canada , currently held in Edmonton, Alberta ; the host site from its 1974 inception through 2017, after being held in Red Deer, Alberta , from 2018 through 2023. The CFR takes place in the fall and is the final event of the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association (CPRA) season. It offers one of the richest purses in Canadian rodeo, usually worth over C$ 1,000,000.
43-570: Canadian Professional Rodeo Association Currently, the CFR features the 10 leading money winners in each event throughout the Canadian rodeo season, as well as the first- and second-place finishers in each event during the last 10 rodeos of the Canadian Tour season. Each CFR event is contested over five days, featuring six rounds. Before 2006, only Canadian residents were able to compete in
86-479: A 10-year contract. The event was moved to Westerner Park and Peavey Mart Centrium , and was extended to a six-day event with a new youth competition, and additional entertainment. Temporary seating is installed to expand the arena by 2,000 during the rodeo. The CPRA did not have a season in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic , but it returned to having events, including the CFR, in 2021. On October 25, 2023, it
129-542: A Western sports network was seen as a unique opportunity to stand out in cable and satellite lineups. Among the network's first offerings were encore events from RFD's The American Rodeo , the Calgary Stampede , and the Professional Bull Riders archives. Sony's archived programming thus moved to their own GetTV at the start of 2018. The Cowboy Channel signed a multi-year agreement with
172-477: A competition, or "go-round", in each event with its own prizes. In addition, each event has a separate set of prizes for having the best combined results over the ten days, referred to as "the average." The payouts are based on the total prize pool. For every $ 208,000 in the prize pool, the top six in each go-round receive $ 620, $ 490, $ 370, $ 260, $ 160, and $ 100, and the top eight in the average receive $ 1,590, $ 1,290, $ 1,020, $ 750, $ 540, $ 390, $ 270, and $ 150. In 2012,
215-437: A focus on Western sports and rodeo events, which had proven to be a popular attraction on RFD-TV. Gottsch thanked Sony Pictures Television for bringing the network to a solid footing, but noted that overwhelming competition in the classic television space from networks such as MeTV , Antenna TV , Cozi TV , Heroes & Icons and several other networks and streaming options had made the space more competitive and crowded, while
258-671: A landmark sponsorship agreement was achieved and Wrangler became the first title sponsor of the National Finals Rodeo. The agreement, part of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association's continuing effort to elevate professional rodeo to a new level, was made by PRCA Commissioner Steven J. Hatchell . Oklahoma has bid to return the NFR to Oklahoma City, but is always outbid by the deep pockets of Las Vegas. Starting in 2011, Oklahoma City hosted
301-727: A makeup) and the next one that night with standard Wednesday tickets. In May 2024, it was reported that the NFR could move to the New Las Vegas Stadium of the Las Vegas Athletics once the stadium opens in 2028. In June 2024, the PRCA and Las Vegas Events announced that their contract to keep the NFR in Las Vegas through 2035 would amount to $ 264,324,473 in total prize money for contestants and stock contractors. The NFR consists of ten days, each of which has
344-575: A partnership with Rural Media. The Cowgirl Channel was launched on March 1, 2023. It specializes in programming about women in professional rodeo, western fashion, and rural lifestyles in general through the perspectives of women. Rodeos not televised on The Cowboy Channel are televised on The Cowgirl Channel. In 2023, The Cowboy Channel signed a multi-year agreement with the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association to televise and stream their major events, including
387-657: A result of the UNLV shooting on Wednesday, December 6, which occurred at the Lee Business School , only a mile away from the Thomas & Mack Center, the first round of the NFR was postponed out of respect for the victims. Instead, the first day of competition was held on Friday, December 8. To ensure that there would be ten rounds, on Wednesday, December 13, there were two rounds; one in the afternoon behind closed doors (meaning those with Night One tickets were not given
430-446: A total of $ 10 million; $ 8.8 million in competition prize money and $ 1.2 million in guaranteed prize money to qualifiers. The total purse increased to $ 10,257,048 in 2021 and $ 10,900,098 in 2022. Based on the updated purse in 2023, the increase saw round winners take home $ 30,706 per round and average winners earn $ 78,747. Each go-round paid a total of $ 99,053, while the average total paid $ 297,159 per event. The stock contractor pay, which
473-497: A year of competing at numerous regular-season events for the chance to qualify for the NFR and try to win the bullfighting world championship. The Wrangler Bullfighting Tour was discontinued after 2000, and freestyle bullfighting became largely obscured for several years, until being heavily revived in the 2010s. Today, freestyle bullfighting has its own organizations that specialize in the event and world championships are determined there. The world championship steer roping competition,
SECTION 10
#1732783625192516-401: Is 30% of the contestant payout, increased to $ 3,450,451. The Thomas & Mack Center is the home court for the UNLV basketball team. By hosting the NFR, the basketball team plays a few of their away games for about 12 days every December while the NFR is in the Thomas & Mack Center. The National Finals Rodeo has been televised consistently since 1974. From that year to 1986, the event
559-591: Is publicized separately and its finals are held separately at the National Finals Steer Roping (NFSR). The National Finals Breakaway Roping (NFBR), held in conjunction with the NFR since 2020, has been held to determine the WPRA's world champion breakaway roper . Since the NFR is extremely popular, it sells out all seats for all of the events. Many casinos carry the events live in their sports books or host special parties to accommodate all of
602-608: The Canadian Finals Rodeo through December 31, 2027. The Cowboy Channel Canada will also televise these events. Patrick Gottsch, the founder and president of Rural Media Group, died on May 18, 2024, at the age of 70. Much of the Cowboy Channel's non-sports programming is drawn from RFD-TV's program library, with an emphasis on ranching and rodeo programs (thus the Cowboy Channel does not carry RFD-TV's music, agribusiness or news programming). Like RFD-TV,
645-547: The National Circuit Finals Rodeo (NCFR), which is the Finals for the PRCA's semi-pro series. This was seen as a step towards proving the crowds exist to bring the NFR back to Oklahoma City when Las Vegas' contract was scheduled to end in 2014. Following the completion of the 2013 rodeo, Dallas , Texas , and Kissimmee , Florida , made bids to become the host city starting in 2015. On January 24, 2014,
688-573: The National Finals Steer Roping (NFSR), also held since 1959, has always been held separately from the regular NFR. The NFSR has been held at the Kansas Star Arena in Mulvane, Kansas since 2014. The National Finals Breakaway Roping (NFBR) has been held since 2020 to determine the Women's Professional Rodeo Association’s world champion breakaway roper . The event is held in conjunction with
731-611: The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association to televise and stream their major events, including the National Finals Rodeo , starting in 2020. With the network conversion, Rural Media used the opportunity to end their carriage agreements with over-the-air broadcasters, rendering the Cowboy Channel as a pay-TV only offering. A Canadian version of the channel was launched on February 1, 2020, on Shaw Direct television systems through
774-411: The 10-day event. The NFR has had a different number of rounds throughout its history. In 1959 and 1960, there were ten rounds; from 1961 to 1966, there were eight rounds; from 1967 to 1969, there were nine rounds; from 1970 to 1977, the event went back to ten rounds; in 1978, there were eleven rounds; and in 1979, the NFR reverted back to having ten rounds, which has been consistent since then. In 2001,
817-418: The CFR. However, international contestants are now eligible to compete, granted they qualify. From its inception through 2007, the CFR had a unique sudden-death format in which none of the prize money the competitors had earned during the season carried over to the finals. Competitors who finished in the first four places in each round of the CFR received points on a sliding scale from 40 points to 10 points. At
860-597: The CPRA and the city of Saskatoon had fallen through and that a new deal had been reached between the CPRA and Northlands to keep the event in Edmonton for 2017. Northlands Coliseum was closed in 2018 due to financial difficulties affecting Northlands since the opening of Rogers Place . On January 16, 2018, it was announced that the Canadian Finals Rodeo would move to Red Deer, Alberta , beginning 2018, under
903-451: The Canadian season, and the money they earn during the CFR is added to their season total, with the leading money-winner in each event at the end of the CFR crowned as season champion. The contestants argued that the amount of money on offer at the CFR made it impossible to clinch a season title before the CFR, and that adopting an NFR-style format would encourage more entries at smaller late-season rodeos. From its 1974 inception through 2017,
SECTION 20
#1732783625192946-557: The Cowboys' Turtle Association, then renamed the Rodeo Cowboys Association in 1945, and known as the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association since 1975, established the NFR in order to determine the world champion in each of rodeo's seven main events. Bareback riding , steer wrestling , saddle bronc riding , tie-down roping , and bull riding have all been a part of the NFR since the first one in 1959. Team roping
989-574: The NFR in Las Vegas through 2035. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Nevada's state mandated health restrictions, the 2020 National Finals Rodeo returned to the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex for the first time since 1961 at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas , where the state's health restrictions were less onerous. The inaugural National Finals Breakaway Roping (NFBR) was also held at Globe Life Field. The NFR returned to
1032-755: The NFR took place at Oklahoma City's Myriad Convention Center , bringing state merchants an estimated annual revenue of $ 8 million. In 1984, Las Vegas bid for the event. Although the Oklahoma City Council considered building a new $ 30 million arena at the State Fairgrounds , the Las Vegas bid won. Since 1985, the NFR has been held at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada . The NFR has become Thomas & Mack Center arena's biggest client, bringing in more than 170,000 fans during
1075-638: The NFR. The inaugural NFR was held in 1959 in Dallas , Texas , at the Texas State Fair Coliseum and continued at that venue through 1961. From 1962 to 1964, Los Angeles , California 's Los Angeles Sports Arena hosted the competition. Oklahoma City , Oklahoma , successfully bid in 1964 to be the host city. In 1965, the first NFR at the State Fair Arena drew 47,027 fans. The NFR remained there through 1978. From 1979 to 1984,
1118-672: The PRCA signed a contract extension through 2024 with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority . Because the Dallas area hosted in 2020 as a result of Nevada state restrictions, the contract extension was moved to 2025. However, just a few days before the start of the 2023 NFR, it was announced that the Las Vegas Events Board of Trustees and the PRCA Board of Directors had reached an agreement to keep
1161-559: The Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas in 2021, while the NFBR moved to the Orleans Arena , also in Las Vegas, that same year. In 2022, the NFBR moved to Las Vegas' South Point Arena . Unlike the first two NFBRs, which took place on same days as the NFR, since 2022, the NFBR takes place two days before the start of the NFR. The 2023 NFR was scheduled to take place from Thursday, December 7 through Saturday, December 16. However, as
1204-695: The campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) in Paradise , Nevada , United States , and is aired live on The Cowboy Channel . Cowboy Christmas , a cowboy gift show, is held concurrent with the rodeo at the Las Vegas Convention Center . Since the rodeo uses 'special dirt', the dirt is stored on the UNLV campus for use in the next NFR. The NFR is the final rodeo of the PRCA season. World championship titles are awarded to
1247-434: The chairman. The organization also operated FamilyNet Radio 161, a full-time Christian talk channel on Sirius Satellite Radio , but was discontinued on November 30, 2010; FamilyTalk replaced it. From 2011 to 2012, the channel showed sitcoms like The Bob Newhart Show , Newhart , and Mr. Belvedere . On October 24, 2012, Rural TV purchased FamilyNet, and the transaction took effect on January 1, 2013. At first
1290-498: The end of the rodeo, the top four places in "the average" (i.e., average time or score throughout all the rounds) also earned points on the same scale. The performers with the most points in each event were crowned Canadian champions. In 2008, at the request of the competitors, the CFR adopted a format similar to that of the National Finals Rodeo in the United States . The competitors now carry over their money earnings during
1333-490: The event was held at Northlands and Northlands Coliseum (most recently known as Rexall Place) in Edmonton , Alberta . In July 2016, it was announced that the event would move to Saskatoon , Saskatchewan in 2017, after having rejected a bid by Northlands and Oilers Entertainment Group to continue hosting the event in Edmonton. However, on October 19, 2016, it was announced that the memorandum of understanding between
Canadian Finals Rodeo - Misplaced Pages Continue
1376-431: The fans in town who cannot get tickets for the events. Most of the major hotels and casinos book special entertainment into their showrooms with a country theme offering many of the regular shows an extended break. The National Finals Rodeo (NFR), known popularly as the " Super Bowl of rodeo," is a championship event held annually by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). Said organization, founded in 1936 as
1419-484: The individuals who earn the most money in his or her event throughout the year. Seven events and nine championships are sanctioned by the PRCA: The All-Around world title is awarded at the end of the NFR to the highest-earning cowboy who has regularly competed in more than one event during the year. In addition to world championships, an average winner is crowned in each event. Note: Steer roping
1462-411: The individuals who earn the most money in their event: National Finals Rodeo The National Finals Rodeo ( NFR ) is the premier championship rodeo of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). It showcases the talents of the PRCA's top 15 money winners in the season for each event. The NFR is held each year in the first full week of December, at the Thomas & Mack Center on
1505-410: The network was used to carry an all-trading day format of farm and market news, which eventually moved to a reduced timeslot on RFD-TV due to low interest and ratings. Rural Media, which had considered merging RFD-TV and FamilyNet together to gain over-the-air carriage, eventually decided to keep FamilyNet as a separate service, but with a refocus in programming towards classic television programming which
1548-567: The ownership of Jerry Falwell , and then in 2017 was rebranded as The Cowboy Channel. It is operated under Rural Media Group, which also owns RFD-TV . The channel was acquired by InTouch Ministries in October 2007 from the Southern Baptist Convention . In December 2009, FamilyNet was acquired by Robert A. Schuller 's ComStar Media Fund. In 2010, FamilyNet was spun out into its own company, with Robert A. Schuller as
1591-480: The paywall-subscription-based The Cowboy Channel Plus application. The Cowboy Channel The Cowboy Channel (formerly FamilyNet ) is an American cable television network in over 42 million cable and satellite homes, which carries Western programming and rodeo sports. The network was founded in 1979 as the National Christian Network , later took the name FamilyNet in 1988 under
1634-400: The prize pool was $ 6,125,000, so each go-round paid $ 18,257 for first, $ 14,429 for second, $ 10,895 for third, $ 7,656 for fourth, $ 4,712 for fifth, and $ 2,945 for sixth, and each event's average paid $ 46,821 for first, $ 37,987 for second, $ 30,036 for third, $ 22,085 for fourth, $ 15,901 for fifth, $ 11,484 for sixth, $ 7,951 for seventh, and $ 4,417 for eighth. Between 2015 and 2020, the NFR paid out
1677-546: Was added in 1962, and barrel racing was added in 1967. The NFR showcases the talents of the PRCA's top fifteen money winners in each event as they compete for the world title. From 1981 through 2000, the NFR also had American freestyle bullfighting , where the top six bullfighters from the Wrangler Bullfighting Tour, which had the Wrangler jeans company as the title sponsor, competed at the event after
1720-439: Was announced that the CFR would be returning to Edmonton by 2024, with the rodeo held at Rogers Place . It will be held there through 2026. The traditional six performances were shrunk to five performances, and the CFR is now held in early October, a full month earlier than ever in its history. Championship titles are awarded to the individuals who earn the most money in their event: Novice championship titles are also awarded to
1763-484: Was not picked up by competitors MeTV , Antenna TV and Cozi TV . Rural Media also decided not to renew over-the-air contracts with stations in a slow process in order to make it a cable-only network. A number of former FamilyNet affiliates (mainly religious stations) continue to carry programming recorded from the network's feed before the Rural TV sale, seemingly under a perpetual license. In September 2014, FamilyNet
Canadian Finals Rodeo - Misplaced Pages Continue
1806-754: Was refocused with classic television series and films from the Sony Pictures Television libraries, with Sony also assisting with advertising sales. Religious programming, which used to make up the vast majority of the schedule under SBC and Schuller's ownership, was limited to Sunday mornings, though Rural Media also maintained FamilyNet's paid programming overnights despite their executives' traditional disdain for depending on those programs for revenue. (RFD-TV since also began to carry overnight paid programming .) On June 19, 2017, Rural Media Group CEO Patrick Gottsch announced that on July 1, FamilyNet would be rebranded as The Cowboy Channel, featuring
1849-417: Was telecast through syndication. From 1987 through 2010, it was broadcast by ESPN , although its coverage was often tape delayed due to coverage of other events. From 2011 through 2013, the NFR was broadcast live on Great American Country (GAC). From 2014 through 2019, it was televised on CBS Sports Network . Since 2020, it has been televised live on The Cowboy Channel and RFD-TV , and streamed live on
#191808