Major League Fishing to Host
Two Major Events This Fall
26-Week
Series Run on Outdoor Channel Kicks off January 1
TULSA, Okla. – Jack Link’s
Major League Fishing will host two events in 2012, with the first of the two –
the Summit Cup – scheduled to begin airing on January 1, 2013, on Outdoor
Channel, the organization announced today.
“Our inaugural event exceeded our expectations, and the
reviews from the public were terrific,” said Major League Fishing Commissioner
Don Rucks. “And I believe this year’s events are
going to get even better, drumming up excitement from even more anglers and
viewers.”
“During its first season on Outdoor Channel, Major League Fishing ranked as one of the highest
rated programs on the network,” said Outdoor Channel Executive Vice President
of Programming and Production Jeffrey Wayne. “The series – a revolutionary
format that pits 24 anglers in a head-to-head competition, where one angler
comes out on top – is slated to makes its return to the network for Season Two
in late-December and then Season Three in late-March. Such riveting programming
perfectly aligns with our business strategy to offer high caliber content to
our audience.”
Major League Fishing’s first event, the Challenge Cup,
was held on Lake Amistad near Del Rio, Texas, and aired on Outdoor Channel,
America’s Leader in Outdoor TV, during the second quarter of 2012. Major League
Fishing also offered an extended version of Outdoor Channel’s presentation via
pay-per-view webisodes, which preceded the television
broadcast.
Rucks said that the
in-depth pay-per-view airings will again accompany Outdoor Channel television
broadcasts, with one significant change. The webisodes,
dubbed “Extended Cast,” will now follow Outdoor Channel TV episodes. Details,
such as the number of webisodes being offered, when
they will be available, pricing and package information, will be offered at a
later date.
“In conjunction with the inaugural Major League Fishing
event, we offered the pay-per-view webisodes prior to
their airing on Outdoor Channel as a way to introduce the new league,” Rucks said. “Now, we will offer additional content to
viewers through our new pay-per-view platform, Extended Cast, following the
episodes airing on Outdoor Channel. We feel many viewers will be so enticed by
the action-filled competition appearing on Outdoor Channel that they’ll want to
watch a more in-depth broadcast that offers more than three-times the amount of
coverage.”
The first of the 2012 events, the Jack Link’s Major
League Fishing Summit Cup, will be held in the Northeast. The second event will
be conducted in the South. Anglers have not been notified of the event
locations and will not know until roughly two days prior to the start of each
competition.
At Major League Fishing events, each day anglers compete
on different zones of the lake. They are not notified of their specific zone
until shortly before their early-morning launches. Major League Fishing’s
innovative format allows anglers to compete with no limit on the number of
legal fish they can weigh. Competitors are not allowed to begin events with
stored, user-generated GPS waypoints. The anglers are also equipped with
real-time leader boards in their boats, which show where they rank in the
standings at all times.
“I’ve spoken with the majority of our anglers, and I can
promise you that every one of them is pumped about the upcoming events. Major
League Fishing is unlike any competition our guys have ever fished as we were
all schooled out on the water during our first event at Lake Amistad,” said
Major League Fishing angler Gary Klein, who was instrumental in creating the
event format. “I have said this many times, but the pressure we felt during
competition was even more intense and thrilling than any of us expected.”
About Jack Link’s Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing is a partnership of 24 of the world’s most talented,
influential professional bass anglers and the Outdoor Channel. Jack Link’s
sponsors the organization. For more information about the new game, with new
rules and no limits, please visit www.majorleaguefishing.com.
About Outdoor Channel Holdings, Inc.
Outdoor Channel Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: OUTD) owns and operates Outdoor
Channel, America’s Leader In Outdoor TV, and Winnercomm
Inc., an Emmy Award winning production and interactive company. Outdoor Channel
offers programming that captures the excitement of hunting, fishing, shooting,
off-road motorsports, adventure and the Western lifestyle and can be viewed on
multiple platforms including high definition, video-on-demand, as well as on a
dynamic broadband website. Winnercomm Inc. is one of
America's leading and highest quality producers of live sporting events and
sports series for cable and broadcast television. Outdoor Channel Holdings,
Inc. also owns and operates the SkyCam and CableCam aerial camera systems which provide dramatic
overhead camera angles for major sports events, including college and NFL
football. For more information, please visit www.outdoorchannel.com.
Advertising