A pro league in America’s fastest-growing sport is headed to streaming.
The Professional Pickleball Association Tour and Amazon Prime Video have announced a multiyear deal that will see the online giant stream four live PPA Tour events per year, beginning Thursday with the Acrytech Atlanta Open. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
This weekend’s event will be hosted by on-air analysts Dave Fleming and Kyle McKenzie, as well as play-by-play announcers Michelle McMahon and Camryn Irvin.
Prime Video’s coverage of the 2023-24 World Championship Series will include:
- Aug. 24-27: Vulcan Kansas City Open, Kansas City
- Oct. 5-8: Guaranteed Rate Championships in Las Vegas
- Oct. 12-15: CIBC (USA vs. World) Boca Raton Open
The agreement with Amazon adds to the PPA Tour’s impressive list of media partners, including ABC/ESPN, Fox, CBS, YouTube, Tennis Channel, and FanDuel. Earlier this month, ESPN signed on to air seven PPA Tour events this season.
In January, the rival Association of Pickleball Professionals announced new TV deals with ESPN and CBS.
Pickleball’s pro game continues to gather steam amid the sport’s immense popularity at the recreational level. A report published earlier this year estimated that 36.5 million people in the U.S. played pickleball between August 2021 and August 2022 — about 14% of Americans.
