PPA Tour Unveils Largest Broadcast Deals in Organization History; Announces 273 Hours of Coverage

SALT LAKE CITY, UT (May 25, 2023) – The Carvana Professional Pickleball Association (PPA Tour) today released the full broadcast schedule with top media entities, ESPN, CBS Sports, Prime Video, and Tennis Channel for the 2023 season, marking the most extensive broadcast schedule in the organization’s history. Across a calendar of 25 tournaments this year, the PPA Tour will provide a minimum of 273 total hours of live action for fans to enjoy, as well as continuous streaming throughout the year on Tennis Channel Plus and the PPA Tour platform – PPA TV.

“Coming into the pickleball industry, it was always our goal to create a top-notch product that could be showcased on major networks and answer the ever-increasing demand for pickleball action,” said Connor Pardoe, CEO of the PPA Tour. “We’re lucky to be working in a sport with massive opportunity, worldwide appeal, and an insatiable audience. The sky’s the limit with pickleball, and our broadcast partnerships are yet another indicator of that.”

Linear television hours include 11 on ESPN/ESPN2, 29 on CBS Sports, 128 on Prime Video, and 105 on Tennis Channel. Last year, the PPA Tour and CBS Sports showcased pickleball on a national stage with the Skechers Summer Invitational on August 13, during which the sport’s live viewership hit an all-time high.

“As we’ve done in tennis for two decades, Tennis Channel is excited to work with the PPA and all other engaged broadcasters to grow pickleball across distribution outlets and develop as many fans as possible,” said Ken Solomon, President of Tennis Channel. “Rising tides float all ships, and we’re big believers in having key pickleball assets on our various owned TV, streaming and digital platforms as well as those of our partners, for the benefit of all stakeholders in this fastest-growing American sport.”

Coverage

Further broadcast coverage to be announced over the course of 2023 and schedule subject to change*

Media Contact:
Jeff Watson | Carvana PPA Tour | VP of Communications | j.watson@ppatour.com

About Carvana PPA Tour
The Carvana PPA Tour is the professional tour of pickleball, organizing events and rankings for the top male and female pickleball players worldwide and awarding more than $5.5 million in annual prize money with equal play and pay. The Carvana PPA Tour is set to host 25 events in 2023 at world-class facilities like the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Cincinnati, Brookhaven Country Club in Dallas, and the Darling Tennis Center and Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. Inviting all to compete and “play where the pros play,” the Carvana PPA Tour offers amateur divisions of play for every level, unparalleled experiences for fans and spectators, gorgeous venues, pro player meet-and-greets, food/beverages, live entertainment, VIP upgrades, giveaways and games, shopping, vendors, and more. Founded in 2018 and based in Salt Lake City, UT, the Carvana PPA Tour is operated by parent corporation, Pickleball.com. For more information, go to www.ppatour.com. See Pro Player Profiles and follow us on social: Twitter Instagram YouTube Facebook LinkedIn.

About ESPN 
ESPN, the world’s leading sports entertainment brand, features eight U.S. television networks, direct-to-consumer ESPN+, ESPN Radio, ESPN.com, endeavors on every continent around the world, and more.  ESPN is 80 percent owned by ABC, Inc. (an indirect subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company) and 20 percent by Hearst.

About CBS Sports
CBS Sports, a year-round leader in cross-platform sports coverage, broadcasts a portfolio of events on the CBS Television Network, including THE NFL ON CBS; college football, including the SEC ON CBS; college basketball, including the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship; golf, including The Masters®, PGA Championship and PGA TOUR; soccer, including the UEFA Champions League and NWSL; and CBS SPORTS SPECTACULAR. In addition, the division includes CBS SPORTS NETWORK, the 24-hour cable home of CBS Sports which televises live sports programming throughout the year, including college football and basketball games, UEFA Champions League and Europa League action, Italy’s Serie A matches, Concacaf national team competitions, as well as a full slate of original programming and studio coverage. CBS Sports also delivers an extensive lineup of global soccer coverage on Paramount+, including every UEFA club competition match and all Serie A matches as well as Concacaf national team competitions. CBS Sports Digital’s multi-platform offerings include CBSSports.com and the CBS Sports apps for mobile and connected TV devices; the 24/7 streaming sports news network CBS Sports HQ; 247Sports; MaxPreps; CBS Sports fantasy games; and SportsLine.

About Prime Video Sports
Prime Video supports a growing lineup of live sports globally, including Thursday Night Football, the WNBA, the Seattle Storm, the New York Yankees, and Overtime Elite in the United States; ONE Championship in the United States and Canada; Premier League in the United Kingdom; ATP and WTA tennis in the United Kingdom and Ireland; UEFA Champions League football in Germany and Italy; Roland-Garros and Ligue 1 in France; Australian Swimming globally; New Zealand Cricket in India; as well as Copa do Brasil football and the NBA in Brazil; and boxing and the 2023 World Baseball Classic in Japan. While availability varies by marketplace, fans can also subscribe to streaming services such as Eurosport, FOX Sports (Mexico), Viaplay Sport, MLB.TV, NBA League Pass, NBA TV, DAZN (Germany and Spain), and Premiere FC (Brazil) through Prime Video Channels. This is in addition to a selection of Amazon Original documentaries including Good Rivals, Coach Prime, Reggie, Redefined: J.R. Smith, and the Amazon Original All or Nothing franchise, including All or Nothing: Arsenal, All or Nothing: Juventus, All or Nothing: Toronto Maple Leafs, and All or Nothing seasons with various NFL teams, as well as the NCAA’s Michigan Wolverines football team.

Tennis Channel (www.tennischannel.com) which is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, is the only television-based multiplatform destination dedicated to both the professional sport and tennis lifestyle.  The network has the most concentrated single-sport coverage in television in one of the world’s most voluminous sports, with multiple men’s and women’s tournaments and singles, doubles and mixed competition throughout the year.  Tennis Channel has rights at the four majors – US Open, Wimbledon, Roland Garros (French Open) and Australian Open – and is the exclusive U.S. home of all men’s ATP World Tour and women’s WTA Tour competitions, Laver Cup and Billie Jean King Cup.  Direct-to-consumer streaming service Tennis Channel Plus is available to everyone in the United States and allows subscribers to select from another 4,500 live and on-demand matches and award-winning content from short-form to films throughout the tennis season.  Tennis Channel International brings live competition and network content to markets in Europe and Asia via digital subscription and free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channels.  Additional platform www.tennis.com is the largest digital outlet dedicated to the sport.  Tennis Channel also manages a network of close to 20 podcasts.