Former NLL Exec Mark Fine Hired as Next PBR CMO
Former Las Vegas Desert Dogs CEO Mark Fine is ditching the lacrosse field for the toughest sport on dirt.
Professional Bull Riding (PBR), one of the largest bull riding leagues in the world, has hired Fine as its next chief marketing officer. The former National Lacrosse League (NLL) executive is replacing Kosha Irby, who in February joined Clemson University as its executive senior associate athletic director and chief marketing officer.
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Fine will report to PBR CEO Sean Gleason and will oversee all aspects of marketing, from live events to content and digital. His arrival comes just weeks into the second season of the new PBR Team Series.
Fine was recently named the NLL’s Executive of the Year after “laying the foundation for long-term success” with the Desert Dogs, which are owned by Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai. Despite the league-wide accolade, Fine parted ways with the expansion club earlier this year. The former Nets exec will now be tapped to lead the marketing efforts at PBR, which is owned by Endeavor (NYSE: EDR). He will also step in as a contributor to Endeavor’s broader network of sports and entertainment properties.
PBR, which recently signed Camping World Inc. (NYSE: CWH) to be the first outside title sponsor for its Team Series, continues to try to use storytelling to grab a larger audience. After the Team Series was featured on Prime Video show The Ride last year, PBR starts a media rights deal with Spanish language partner Univision this year. It’s also making its way into the sports betting landscape, being plugged into Endeavor’s OpenBet and partnering with ALT Sports for pricing and odds.
Overall, the 30-year old company says it has had 31 sold-out events so far and hosted more than 775,000 fans across its top two tours (Unleash the Beast and Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour) during the first half of 2023, which is reserved for individual competition before the Team Series takes over in the second half.
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