ESPN Network Buys B.A.S.S.

Founder Ray Scott's Reaction

The television sports network ESPN announced the purchase of the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society (B.A.S.S.), the long-time leader in the sport of professional bass fishing.

B.A.S.S., based in Montgomery, Alabama, was founded by Ray W. Scott in 1968 and grew to a membership of over 600,000 worldwide anglers. The Society's BASSMASTER Magazine is regarded as the "Bible of bass fishing," and the Bassmaster Tournament Trail has spawned the fishing heroes of the past three decades.

ESPN officials said the acquisition of B.A.S.S. could lead to the operation of a 24-hour outdoors network. Terms of the purchase were not detailed.

Scott sold his interest in B.A.S.S. in 1986 to a group of employees headed by Helen Sevier and the Birmingham, Alabama's Jemison Investment Group.

Scott's reaction to the ESPN move is one of "I'm excited for the future of the sport. The prospects for recharging the interest in bass fishing is only limited by the imagination. It's no secret the level of bass fishing has been flat-lining. With ESPN's commitment to outdoor programming, and its highly visible promotional means, the opportunities to grow the interest and advertising support for bass fishing has never been brighter."

Scott sold his interest for a reportedly 15 million dollars in 1986, but stayed on as the Society's president and popular weighmaster for the Bassmaster Tournament Trail and the BASS Masters Classic world championship. He left the company in 1998 to form Ray Scott Outdoors, Inc., a marketing and consulting group for the fishing and marine industry.

Is there a possibility that Ray Scott will return to the B.A.S.S. fishing arena? "Honestly, I don't know what's going to happen," says Scott. "I've had several calls from friends in the bass fishing industry and the outdoor media asking that question."

Scott says, "I've not had any discussions with ESPN as to their interest or direction of the future of bass fishing on television. If they should ask, I'll be happy to listen. I'm still actively involved in the bass fishing sport, and having been a central influence for its growth over the past 30 years, I'm seeing flashbacks of our step-by-step struggle and how ESPN can just flip a switch and send our sport into fast forward. We're on the doorstep of a new beginning."

Scott adds, "B.A.S.S. is a business, sure, but it's also an institution…an organization built on the interest of a single species…the black bass and dedicated to bass fishermen. Hopefully, the founding principles of the Society will not be mothballed and overlooked. The B.A.S.S. membership has been the Minute Man for the forces of Conservation and supporting the future of the fish.

"Without the dedication of the individual bass angler, the 'Don't Kill Your Catch' movement would never have caught fire and ignited the catch-and-release of our bass fishing resource. Today, in my opinion, that's one of the most important achievements in our B.A.S.S. history."

Until Scott organized the All-American Invitational Bass Tournament in 1967 at Beaver Lake, Arkansas, bass fishing was a low-key weekend recreation. His vision changed the sport into an estimated $28 billion industry.

Scott's original "bass tournament rules" are still the standard by which bass fishing competitions are conducted.

Without a doubt, Ray Scott is the most recognized personality in bass fishing. An icon of tremendous stature.

As syndicated outdoor columnist Fred Bonner observed: "To many of us there is something missing from the organization (B.A.S.S.) and that something is the magnetic personality of Ray Scott at the microphone as Master of Ceremonies of the BASS Masters Classic. It's just not the same without Ray Scott. He was and is the 'Bass Boss'."

ESPN has an established history of outdoor sport. The Jerry McKinnis "Fishing Hole" started in 1980 is the cable system's second longest running program, only behind "Sports Center." ESPN2 reaches 76 million homes on the weekend with its lineup of outdoor programming.

"The BASSMASTERS" TV coverage of the Tournament Trail moved from the former Nashville Network (TNN, now the National Network) to ESPN2 this season. The move apparently triggered ESPN's interest in the purchase of B.A.S.S., Inc.