PICKLEBALL WILL MAKE OFFICIAL DEBUT ON TENNIS CHANNEL, THANKS TO THE NETWORK’S NEW AGREEMENT WITH THE PPA TOUR
| July 11, 2023
The PPA Tour’s Orlando Cup at the USTA National Campus on September 9-12th will kick-off Tennis Channel’s historical premiere of professional pickleball action.
SALT LAKE CITY, UT (September 2, 2021) – Tennis Channel, the 24-hour multimedia platform dedicated to tennis, will provide exclusive live coverage of Championship Sunday from 12:00pm ET – 6:30pm ET during the PPA Orlando Cup. The broadcast will include the finals from all five divisions of professional play: Men’s Singles, Women’s Singles, Men’s Doubles, Women’s Doubles, and Mixed Doubles.
This exciting new development in the sport marks the start of a mutually beneficial partnership between the PPA Tour and Tennis Channel, which could lead to additional events on the network in 2022 and beyond. The channel has a year-round production facility at the USTA National Campus in Orlando where the competition is being held, and will handle the entirety of the broadcast on Championship Sunday. It will receive the same level of detail and attention as Tennis Channel gives to professional tennis events, with announcers and sideline reporting, and a wide array of shots captured by jib cams, drone cams and rail cams. It is set to be the largest scale television production in pickleball history.
“We are thrilled to bring fans the best professional pickleball in the world and set the standard for tournaments and players everywhere,” said Connor Pardoe, commissioner of the PPA. “Our new partnership with Tennis Channel only furthers that goal and ushers our rapidly exploding sport to the forefront of professional racquet and paddle sports.”
Tennis Channel, which launched in 2003 and reaches 50 million U.S. homes, shows more live competition than any other single-sport network. It is the exclusive home of both the men’s and women’s professional tennis tours and offers coverage at all four majors. The network’s first foray into pickleball firmly establishes pickleball within the world of popular sporting events and makes live professional action more accessible than ever to viewers.
“Pickleball’s unprecedented growth in recent years has been on Tennis Channel’s radar for a while,” said John MacDonald, senior vice president, content programming, Tennis Channel. “It’s an exciting sport that we think will greatly appeal to our viewers, 70% of whom play tennis recreationally, with a good number of them playing pickleball as well. We’re pleased to welcome the PPA Tour to our network and look forward to cooperating in the future.”
Announcer Noah Eagle will handle play by play during Tennis Channel’s coverage of the Orlando Cup. He will be joined by analyst, Morgan Evans.
In addition to live television coverage on Tennis Channel, the Orlando Cup will air internationally on streaming service Tennis Channel International. Encore presentations of the event will be available to American audiences via domestic streaming service Tennis Channel Plus.
Tennis Channel’s integration with the PPA Tour will include event marketing, promotional campaigns, social media collaborations, articles on Tennis.com and Tennis Magazine, and the production of creative content, including exciting pickleball storylines and features for Tennis Channel.
With millions awarded in player payout annually and thousands of players competing in tournaments each year, the PPA Tour supplies spectators and fans with the highest levels of pro play and competition. The PPA will also launch professional sports betting this fall, stimulating even more growth within this swiftly evolving sport.
Fans can find the first three days of live professional play from September 9-11 on the PPA Tour’s Facebook page and YouTube channel. Live coverage of Championship Sunday on September 12th will be broadcast on Tennis Channel from 12:00pm ET – 6:30pm ET. You can also buy tickets here to join us in Orlando, FL and watch the best-of-the-best compete on the ground!
About the PPA Tour
The Professional Pickleball Association is the professional tour for the sport of pickleball, organizing events and rankings for the top male and female pickleball players in the world and awarding over $2 million in annual prize money. With more than 20 events in 2022 at world-class facilities like the Linder Family Tennis Center in Cincinnati and the Aviva Center in Toronto, the PPA Tour is the premier provider of professional and amateur events. The PPA Tour’s broadcast partners include FOX Sports, Tennis Channel, CBS Sports, and ESPN+. Founded in 2018 and based in Salt Lake City, Utah, the PPA Tour provides an unparalleled experience for all, inviting players to compete and “play where the pros play,” as well as offering unrivaled venues, food/beverages, live DJ entertainment, VIP experiences, giveaways and games, pro player meet-and-greets, shopping, vendors, and more. For more information, go to www.ppatour.com.
About Tennis Channel
Tennis Channel (www.tennischannel.com), which is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, is the only 24-hour, television-based multimedia destination dedicated to both the professional sport and tennis lifestyle. A hybrid of comprehensive sports, health, fitness, pop culture, entertainment, lifestyle and travel programming, the network is home to every aspect of the wide-ranging, worldwide tennis community. It also has the most concentrated single-sport coverage in television, with telecast rights at the US Open, Wimbledon, Roland Garros (French Open) and Australian Open.
About Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc.
Sinclair is a diversified media company and leading provider of local sports and news. The Company owns and/or operates 21 regional sports network brands; owns, operates and/or provides services to 185 television stations in 86 markets; is a leading local news provider in the country; owns multiple national networks; and has TV stations affiliated with all the major broadcast networks. Sinclair’s content is delivered via multiple platforms, including over-the-air, multi-channel video program distributors, and digital platforms. The Company regularly uses its website as a key source of Company information which can be accessed at www.sbgi.net.
Media Contact:
Hannah Johns
PPA Head of Content
hannah@ppatour.comEric Abner
Public Relations
310-314-9445
eabner@tennischannel.com
