Outdoorsmen give names to creatures they pursue, like Cleatus for a 10-point buck or a 10-pound bass. B.A.S.S. landed such a trophy in its partnership with FOX Sports, whose robot mascot just so happens to be named Cleatus.
The CGI-animated character has appeared in many iterations, and with the four-year deal to air Bassmaster LIVE on FOX Sports networks, Cleatus might soon be zinging a cast or yanking back on a super-cyber hookset. With coverage of most all the major sports reaching more than 100 million viewers every weekend, FOX Sports moves bass fishing into a much larger ring.
“It’s a straight four-year agreement. It’s a good one,” B.A.S.S. CEO Bruce Akin said. “There is a huge appetite for live bass fishing, and this partnership with FOX provides an incredible opportunity to reach new fans.”
The development excited many in the fishing industry, who were already optimistic with an expanding interest in the sport because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The B.A.S.S. news release on the deal received more than 10,000 likes or shares on social media, and Akin has received congratulatory notes from industry CEOs, anglers and fans. B.A.S.S. as an organization is riding high.
“Bass fishing is taking another really giant, giant step here, with LIVE becoming the norm for linear television,” said Mike McKinnis, executive producer and B.A.S.S. VP of media content. “We’ve been producing posted shows since the beginning of B.A.S.S. We’ve been streaming live shows on Bassmaster.com since 2015, and it wasn’t until this year that we aired Bassmaster LIVE on network television.
“Now with the new FOX deal, every event is going to be on television live, and that’s just incredible for our sport, for our anglers, fans, sponsors, for everybody.”
Bassmaster LIVE made strides in 2020, airing multiple tournaments on ESPN2 that produced impressive viewership. That success was in part the impetus of the deal to have all nine 2021 Elite events aired on FS1 for three hours each weekend morning and Day 2 of the Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk airing on FOX for three hours.
“We kind of put the net out there a little bit to see who would work with us, and we arrived at FOX,” Akin said. “One thing that attracted us was the complimentary programs they have on FOX, having three hours each weekend day live, and the 8-11 a.m. (ET) time slot was attractive at the same time. Committing three hours of the Classic that Saturday to broadcast on FOX is huge. There’s also access to FOX digital platforms. Those were the things we were looking at.
“ESPN was willing to continue with the posted shows, but they weren’t in a position to commit to what we wanted to do with live. We’re still doing some things with ESPN, and we’ll still be on Bassmaster.com, but in television, it’s important for us to be live.”
B.A.S.S. and JM Associates, which produces Bassmaster TV, has had a long relationship with ESPN, but the deal was set to expire after the 2020 season. Enter Tim Sullivan, whose first consideration when he was named B.A.S.S. CRO in October, 2019, was to work on a new television contract. Sullivan, who was a sales strategist for Gray Television and previously worked for MLB, said it was difficult to part ways with such a great longtime partner.
“ESPN always handled our partnership and carried themselves with a lot of class. The folks from ESPN understood why LIVE was the future of our sport,” Sullivan said. “However, they were responsible to other sports, and they couldn’t figure out where we would fit in. The cool part was it became an opportunity with FOX, which is very exciting.”
Sullivan said LIVE’s impressive Nielsen Ratings appealed to FOX. With the pandemic shutting down most sports, LIVE filled a void when it was introduced in June to an ESPN2 audience, and the 19.5 hours of air coverage at the Lake Eufaula tournament drew 2.8 million viewers and more than 85 million minutes watched.
Subsequent events, including several days with seven continuous hours of LIVE, produced similar numbers. JM produced 231.5 hours of Bassmaster TV in 2020 — 86 hours of live coverage — that had a unique audience/reach of 20.5 million, which opened eyes in the television industry.
“It was such a benefit to have the live coverage,” Sullivan said. “The conversation was, ‘Wow, these guys are great. They’re the best at what they do. They understand their programming well, they understand their fan base well. Why hasn’t this been live before?’ I saw that question a lot through social.”
B.A.S.S. officials, from Director Chase Anderson down, knew the importance of LIVE, and the leadership team made it the linchpin of any potential TV deal.
“We proved that Bassmaster LIVE is the future of our sport,” Sullivan said. “Now to have it streaming on Bassmaster.com as well as on linear TV, it will create more fans, create more partnership opportunities with sponsors, and also, just drive home the professionalism we have and the great work that we do.”
The deal gives fans another avenue to B.A.S.S. channels, Sullivan said, noting its website, two magazines, radio programming and YouTube. He expects each will benefit from more consistent and higher profile television coverage, which should make his job easier when working with partners on advertising packages.
“Live programming is the key ingredient that you can illustrate why they should buy on every channel that you own,” Sullivan said. “That’s important with the nature of how people consume media, the opportunity to watch in more ways. Because we’re going to have separate streaming that will exist at the same time as linear television, it just gives fans more chances to engage our pros, and in turn gives the pros more coverage.”
Austin Felix, who was seen plenty on LIVE during his 2020 Rookie of the Year campaign, said it’s an exciting time for Elite anglers who will be able to benefit their own stock as well as sponsors with TV exposure.
“It’s nice to have something written in stone that we’re going to have live television coverage,” he said.
It should grow. With the door opened by the pandemic, many people returned to fishing or discovered it as a great socially distanced activity. States reported dramatic increases in license sales, and in turn, retail stores saw shelves empty while tackle manufacturers continue work to meet demand. While it’s been the worst of times in the country, it’s been a good time for B.A.S.S.
“I’ve said this many times,” McKinnis noted. “We all know the pandemic is terribly unfortunate, however, it really showed all of us that bass fishing can be presented in long form and live, like golf or tennis or any individual sport like it. It’s viable on television. We’re in a fantastic place, 60 hours each season on a network that airs NASCAR, football and baseball.”
LIVE might just end up as a complementary lead-in to NASCAR races, as the sports share fans. Other major sports properties FOX airs include the NFL, MLB, NHL and NCAA football. People in the industry understand the significance of what it might mean for bass fishing.
“Absolutely fantastic news for B.A.S.S. — and also for the bass fishing industry and all us involved in the ‘biz’ side of the sport,” John Mazurkiewicz of Catalyst Marketing and president of the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame wrote to Akin. “Just raised the awareness of fishing. So many people/companies will benefit from the B.A.S.S./FOX deal.”
The broadcast and production team remains intact, with host Tommy Sanders returning along with Mark Zona and Davy Hite, Dave Mercer, Ronnie Moore and Mike Suchan. Akin said it should be the status quo, except adding jokingly, “We’re going to have to wear FOX caps on air now.”