Roku becomes the streaming hub of Bassmaster Tournaments

BIRMINGHAM, Ala., Feb. 18, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Audiences can soon hook free access to live coverage of Bassmaster professional bass fishing tournaments thanks to a new streaming rights partnership between Roku, America's No. 1 TV streaming platform, and Bassmaster, the world's leading authority on sportfishing. Upcoming Bassmaster LIVE events will include action from the brand-new Elite Qualifiers (EQ) Series, five Bassmaster Open Series events, which set the field for the EQs, select coverage of all nine Bassmaster Elite Series events, Friday coverage of the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour and a special prime time production of the Progressive Insurance Bassmaster Classic Celebrity Pro-Am presented by Yokohama, all streaming for free on The Roku Channel.

Kicking off with Thursday and Friday coverage of the 2025 Bassmaster Elite Series season on Feb. 20, the Bassmaster tournaments will stream live on The Roku Channel's Roku Sports Channel. Professional fishing fans can also enjoy replays of the live stream alongside additional on-demand content, clips and highlights across The Roku Channel, Roku Sports Channel and Roku's Sports Zone, plus a dedicated Bassmaster FAST channel launching later this year. The partnership will expand coverage availability of Bassmaster LIVE properties and further bolster Roku's free lineup of exclusive live sports.

"It's an honor to call Roku the streaming home of Bassmaster, an iconic brand with a decades-spanning history of producing best-in-class professional fishing tournaments," said Joe Franzetta, head of sports, Roku Media. "We look forward to bringing these events for free to the passionate fanbase of this top outdoor sport, as well as introducing Bassmaster to new audiences, expanding the tournaments' reach to millions of streaming households in the U.S."

"We are proud to bring so much live programming to Roku's fast-growing sports channel, and we're very excited about the creation of a new outlet for posted video content on a dedicated Bassmaster FAST channel on Roku. It's thrilling to have one of the first streaming-rights partnerships in outdoor sports and the first for professional fishing on America's No. 1 streaming platform," said B.A.S.S. Chief Operations Officer Phillip Johnson. "This partnership will allow Bassmaster to bring our exciting coverage of the highest level of professional bass fishing to Roku's enormous audience and introduce our sport to a new fan base."

Viewers not familiar with Bassmaster events are in for a real treat, as the show follows the best bass anglers on the planet racing against the clock to catch the five biggest bass they can wrangle to end the multiday tournaments with the heaviest weight. Of course, high winds, rainstorms, intense heat waves and the drama of tricking largemouth and smallmouth bass into biting leads to intense moments, as the competitors vie for the coveted trophy and millions of dollars in prize money. New viewers and die-hard fishing fans alike can expect world-class coverage of each storyline as the catches unfold across the competitions.

David Katz and Mike Kelly of ThePostGame, a leading sports media consultancy and content production company, represented Bassmaster in its recent third-party media negotiations and helped secure the partnership with Roku.

The Roku Channel is available to stream for free — no subscription or sign-up required. Audiences can watch it on Roku devices or TVs, and it's also easily accessible online at TheRokuChannel.com, iOS and Android devices, Amazon Fire TVs, Samsung TVs, Google TVs and other Android TV OS devices.

*By hours streamed (Hypothesis Group: Dec 2024)

About The Roku Channel
Launched in 2017, The Roku Channel is the home of free ad-supported streaming television on Roku and features a diverse lineup of more than 80,000 on-demand movies and programs, more than 500 live linear television channels and premium subscription offerings in the U.S. It licenses and distributes content from more than 250 partners and features a growing library of Roku Originals. In Q3 2024, The Roku Channel was the No. 3 app on Roku's platform by both reach and engagement.

About Bassmaster

B.A.S.S., which encompasses the Bassmaster tournament leagues, events and media platforms, is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting-edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the organization's fully integrated media platforms include the industry's leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), TV show, radio show, social media programs and events. For more than 50 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.

The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the most prestigious events at each level of competition, including the Bassmaster Elite Series, St. Croix Bassmaster Opens Series presented by SEVIIN, Mercury B.A.S.S. Nation Qualifier Series presented by Lowrance, Strike King Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Strike King Bassmaster High School Series, Bassmaster Junior Series, Bassmaster Team Championship, Newport Bassmaster Kayak Series presented by Native Watercraft, Bassmaster College Kayak Series, Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship presented by Skeeter and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour.

Contact:
Chad Gay
[email protected]

SOURCE B.A.S.S.