Professional pickleball organizations are making big moves to get America’s fastest growing sport televised across the nation. The most recent broadcasting deals made between the Association of Pickleball Professionals (APP), CBS Sports, and ESPN is another huge step forward for bringing professional pickleball into the spotlight.
The 2023 APP Tour started off strong with the sold-out APP Punta Gorda Open event in Punta Gorda, FL. With the first APP Major Tournament in Daytona Beach on the horizon, the big programming deals with ESPN and CBS Sports couldn’t have come at a better time to boost the Tour’s viewership.
Pickleball fans can look forward to over a dozen different APP Tour events that will be televised on live TV, with a guaranteed 20 hours of live match coverage and recap telecasts on both ESPN2 and the CBS Sports Network. On top of that, pickleball fans will have access to over 200 hours of livestream gameplay footage to watch on both ESPN+ and APP TV.
Pickleball continues to prove itself as the fastest growing sport in America, and the APP’s annual Pickleball Participation Report supports this claim stating that over 36.5 million Americans played pickleball during 2022. APP’s Chief Marketing Officer Tom Webb believes that these contracts with ESPN and CBS Sports will greatly help the growth of pickleball by bringing it right into the homes of fans across the nation.
“Over 36.5 million Americans played pickleball in 2022 and this media package enables those fans to tune in to our world-class tournaments, and introduces the sport and its best players to millions more.”
Tom Webb, APP Chief Marketing Officer
Announcing our updated 2023 APP Tour schedule.
— APP Tour (@OfficialAPPTour) December 22, 2022
16 stops, coast to coast, all fully owned and operated by the APP, and more events to be added as the season progresses. We’ll see you back on court next year!
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The 2023 APP Tour has 16 scheduled stops located all across the nation, all of which will feature USA Pickleball sanctioned events for amateur and pro level players. Be sure to check out APP Tour’s website to stay up to date on the tour’s schedule and events.
