Media

Pickleball Picks Up Two New TV Deals From CBS and ESPN

APP announces deals for 20 hours of combined coverage this year.
Pickleball is America’s fastest-growing sport.

By Michael McCarthy

Jan 23, 2023 | 12:56 pm

UPDATED Apr 15, 2024 | 04:42 pm

Andy Abeyta/ USA TODAY NETWORK

America’s fastest-growing sport has upped its television presence.

The Association of Pickleball Professionals announced TV deals with CBS and ESPN for the APP Tour on Monday.

Terms were not disclosed, but APP stated the twin deals guarantee a combined 20 hours of TV coverage for its tour events this year across CBS Sports Network and ESPN2. The deals include:

Twelve hours of live matches and highlight-driven programs on CBS Sports Network.
Eight hours of event recap telecasts on the ESPN2 cable network.
Over 200 hours of live streaming coverage on ESPN+ and APP TV.

A massive pickleball complex, Rally, is launching its first location in Charlotte, NC 🏗

➖ 2 buildings, 1.9 acres
➖ 27,650 sq ft of indoor space
➖ 4 indoor courts
➖ 4 outdoor courts
➖ Full-service restaurant

Rally will open in Charlotte in early 2023, then plans to expand. pic.twitter.com/EheL31B6Q9
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) April 21, 2022

A Growth Spurt

In 2022, Pickleball ranked as the country’s fastest-growing sport for the second year in a row. The sport saw more than 36.5 million people in the U.S. play between August 2021 and August 2022.

There are 16 APP Tour events on the schedule for this year. Founded in 2019, the tour kicked off its 2023 season in Punta Gorda, Florida. The APP Daytona Beach Open is next in Holly Hill, Florida, from Feb. 8-12.