SVG on Demand: How PBR Bucked Bulls Atop an Aircraft Carrier Live on CBS

300 tons of dirt and steel were used to build the arena, and 15 miles of cable supported the broadcast

To cap a year in which PBR blazed a trail for the return of live sports production following the coronavirus shutdown, the Professional Bull Riders organization made history by staging an event on the flight deck of the USS Lexington Museum, a legendary WWII aircraft carrier docked at Corpus Christi, TX.

The PBR Air Force Reserve Cowboys for a Cause 2020, which aired on CBS on Nov. 22, marked the launch of PBR’s new “Cowboys for a Cause” charitable program, raising $250,000 for military charities through the 15-man competition to close its 2020 season. It wasn’t the first time PBR bucked bulls in a non-traditional setting, having held events in Times Square; at Huntington Beach, CA; and in the middle of Los Angeles’s Hollywood Boulevard.

To pull off this one-of-a-kind production, PBR constructed a bull-riding arena on the 872-ft.-long launch deck on top of the famed aircraft carrier, bringing in 300 tons of dirt and steel and more than 15 miles of copper and fiber-optic cable to support the event and connect the stage with a pair of mobile production units parked nearby to handle the CBS broadcast. PBR used the ship’s still-functioning aircraft elevator (the system that brought planes from the hangar up to the flight deck during battle) to load in the set, production equipment, and, of course, the bulls.

SVG sat down with Robby Greene, who oversees TV and production for PBR, to discuss how his team created a production model for the unique event, how the team ensured that crew and participants stayed safe and healthy, and how the event was a perfect way to cap off a PBR season like no other.