Dodgers’ owner finds next frontier for his sports investment portfolio
Wednesday morning, Teton Ridge announced it was acquiring The Cowboy Channel, which airs 24 hours of rodeo and Western sports broadcasts daily on most cable and streaming platforms.
Teton Ridge was already a large holder of various sports and media properties that appeal to rural America. The latest news suggests someone with money believes there is an as-yet unsatisfied appetite for media coverage of rodeo and Western sports.
That someone? Los Angeles Dodgers owner and Guggenheim Partners CEO Mark Walter.
Teton Ridge is owned by TWG Global, an investment vehicle led by Walter and Thomas Tull. Since buying the Dodgers out of bankruptcy in 2012, Walter has strategically invested in a diverse group of smaller sports properties — the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks, the Professional Women's Hockey League, the Professional Squash Association. He also joined Guggenheim's Todd Boehly in purchasing Chelsea of the English Premier League.
Walter's ability to identify sports properties primed for growth is nearly immaculate. His latest investment is literally off the beaten path but perhaps falls into a similar category as the Sparks did in a pre-Caitlin Clark WNBA — a brand whose peak has yet to arrive.
“We’re not here to come in and change things, we’re here to take what’s already in place and already existing and just take it forward and further and to the next level,” Teton Ridge CEO Deirdre Lester said. “We’re going to continue to invest in the people, the sport, the athletes, and all of the things that are wonderful about The Cowboy Channel.”
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