ABT 100 NEWS

ABT Announces Expanded Television Coverage In 2023

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Kay Donaldson, Program Director

PHONE: 256.350.3500 / 855.9FISHAL

EMAIL: kay@alabamabasstrail.org

ABT Announces Expanded Television Coverage in 2023

Decatur, Ala. (September 8, 2022) – The Alabama Bass Trail (ABT) is pleased to announce additional television air time for the 2023 season as part of its commitment to growing the sport of tournament bass fishing, reaching more fans and bringing more publicity to the anglers, host cities and sponsors. ABT will appear on network television next year beginning in April when its Tournament Series airs on Bally Sports Southeast. Fourteen episodes and over 100 re-airs over a 38 week period will be televised on Sunday mornings.

Bally Sports Southeast will televise 14 original 30-minute episodes to over 8.9 million homes on Sunday mornings at 7 a.m. CST in 2023. Each show will feature a different tournament location with footage taken on the water, during takeoffs and weigh-ins and also includes in-depth interviews with the tournament winners.

The ABT introduced television coverage to its fans in 2016 with episodes airing July through December each year. In 2023, the first episode will air in April, with each episode airing for two weeks providing additional opportunities for fans to watch. Episodes will run from April 2 to December 31, 2023.

ABT Program Director Kay Donaldson said, “We are excited to expand our television coverage for Alabama Bass Trail TV in 2023 and bringing the tournament action to our fans sooner. This new format will allow us to cut down on the time from when the tournament takes place to the time it is aired on television. Each tournament will receive at a minimum of two replays providing more opportunities for our fans to watch while generating valuable publicity for the host city and sponsors of the Alabama Bass Trail Tournament Series.”

Produced by AnglersChannel, each episode of Alabama Bass Trail TV takes viewers inside the boats of the competitors as they navigate the lakes of Alabama. In addition, viewers are also introduced to local eateries and attractions in the host city of each tournament location.

Bally Sports Southeast is an American regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group, a joint venture between Sinclair Broadcast Group and Entertainment Studios, and operates as an affiliate of Bally Sports. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, the channel broadcasts regional coverage of sports events throughout the southeastern United States and is available on cable providers throughout Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina and parts of North Carolina. It is also available nationwide on satellite via DirecTV. The channel’s programming reaches an estimated 8.9 million cable and satellite subscribers. For more information, visit https://www.ballysports.com/south/.

AnglersChannel will continue the five hours of live streaming on the water at each event and will film and produce the ABT television series for Bally Sports Southeast.

“We continue to receive excellent reviews from viewers, our anglers, sponsors and host cities. Because of the tremendous response we have received, we look forward to expanding the television coverage in 2023,” added Donaldson.

Sanctioned by BASS (Bass Anglers Sportsman Society), the ABT Tournament Series gets underway February 11, 2023, on Lewis Smith Lake and concludes Oct. 20-21, 2023, with the championship on Weiss Lake.

North Division:

February 11, 2023       Lewis Smith Lake in Jasper, Ala.

March 18, 2023           Lake Guntersville in Guntersville, Ala.

April 15, 2023             Neely Henry Lake in Gadsden, Ala.

May 13, 2023              Pickwick Lake in Florence, Ala.

June 24, 2023              Wheeler Lake in Decatur, Ala.

South Division:

February 25, 2023       Lake Martin in Alexander City, Ala.

March 11, 2023           Lay Lake in Columbiana, Ala.

April 29, 2023             Lake Eufaula in Eufaula, Ala. 

May 20, 2023              Logan Martin Lake in Lincoln, Ala.

June 10, 2023              Alabama River (Cooter’s Pond) in Prattville, Ala.

Hosted by the town of Leesburg, the championship tournament will be held October 20-21, 2023, on Weiss Lake.

Alabama Bass Trail Tournament sponsors include Phoenix Bass Boats, Academy Sports + Outdoors, Advantage Trailer Rentals, Alabama Power Foundation, Alabama State Parks, Berkley, Bajio Sunglasses, Big Bite Baits, Black Rifle Coffee Company, Buck N’ Bass, Busch Light, E3 Sport Apparel, Fish Neely Henry Lake, Jack’s, Lew’s Fishing, Mountain Dew, FishAlabama.org, Bill Penney Automotive, America’s First Federal Credit Union, Visit North Alabama, Alabama Tourism Department, T-H Marine Supplies, Inc., Power-Pole Total Boat Control, Strike King Lure Company, Yamaha, Yeti Coolers, Wedowee Marine and Garmin.

For more information, call Donaldson at 855-934-7425 or visit www.alabamabasstrail.org.  

About Alabama Bass Trail

The Alabama Bass Trail is a program of the Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association. Its mission is to promote Alabama as a year-round fishing destination, to preserve natural resources for generations to come, and to educate high school and college-aged students to be good stewards of natural resources. The 13 bass fishing lakes consist of Lake Guntersville, Wheeler Lake, Pickwick Lake, Lewis Smith Lake, Neely Henry Lake, Weiss Lake, Lake Martin, Lay Lake, Logan Martin Lake, Lake Jordan, Alabama River, Lake Eufaula, and the Mobile-Tensaw River Delta. For more information, visit www.alabamabasstrail.org.

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