New Berlin, Wis. –-(Ammoland.com)- Sportsman Channel, the leader in outdoor television for the American sportsman, announced today Sunday’s “Montana Showdown” special episode of MeatEater—featuring comedians Joe Rogan and Bryan Callen during their first-ever hunt—earned the show’s highest rating of the season (1) and a Top-10 network ranking in its time period for all midsized networks in the advertiser coveted M25-54 and M18-49 demos (2).
MeatEater is a Sportsman Channel original series produced in conjunction Zero Point Zero (ZPZ) Production.
The MeatEater episode teamed up the unique, different and always interesting personalities of Rogan and Callen with the ultimate outdoorsman, host Steven Rinella, for a no-holds-barred introduction to the sportsman lifestyle. Despite Rogan’s and Callen’s comedic leanings, this series was no joke as Rinella took the first-timers to the rugged wilds of Montana to introduce them to the thrilling, exhausting and wonderful lifestyle of a meat eater and American sportsman. A fan of Rinella since he first saw him on TV a few years back, Rogan had pushed for a real-world hunting expedition with Rinella to fully embrace the experience and passion Rinella had to the sportsman lifestyle.
“Sportsman has tremendous multiplatform resources giving us the ability to cross-over and combine audiences for better reach and engagement,” said CEO of Sportsman Channel Gavin Harvey. “Those powerful platforms helped us promote three engaging personalities living out an adventurous and entertaining experience—and it clearly struck a chord with audiences.”
“Steven Rinella is a consummate hunter, loving father, incredible self-taught cook and acclaimed author. That mix is unique and part of what makes Steven so captivating to both the outdoor and cooking communities,” said Executive Producer Joe Caterini. “We could not be more proud of MeatEater’s nomination for best TV program from the prestigious James Beard Foundation, which highlights the best in culinary entertainment – a very crowded field. It’s a true testament to Steven’s cross-over appeal to anyone who loves food and wants to know more about its origins.”
“Joe Rogan and Bryan Callen were excellent guests, and they proved to be tireless and motivated hunters. I just love those guys, and I can’t wait to hunt with them again,” said Steven Rinella.
“The popularity of this episode speaks to just how far-reaching outdoor entertainment can be; if you tell a good story, people want to watch – regardless of whether they hunt and fish. More and more, it’s a world that people are interested to explore. We see more fans – and more new hunters – tuning in every week. It’s an exciting time to be a part of the Sportsman Channel team.”
- (1) Highest rated episode, Nielsen live+SD coverage area rating, M18-49, 12/31/12 – 5/5/13 across all episodes of the series.
- (2) Nielsen live+SD coverage area rating, M25-54, M18-49 demographics for midsized networks (20MM-80MM Nielsen UE) for the episode airing 5/5/13 at 9pm ET.
About Sportsman Channel: Launched in 2003, Sportsman Channel, and Sportsman HD, is the only television and digital media company fully devoted to sportsmen in the United States, delivering entertaining and educational programming focused exclusively on hunting, shooting and fishing activities. Sportsman Channel reaches more than 32 million U.S. television households and is available in HD. Visit www.thesportsmanchannel.com, follow on Twitter, @SPORTSMANchnl (twitter.com/SPORTSMANchnl) and Like on Facebook, facebook.com/sportsmanchannel