SALT LAKE CITY — April 27, 2023 — The Carvana Professional Pickleball Association (PPA Tour), the world's leading and premier professional pickleball tour, delivered eye popping audience numbers last weekend. The Tour’s OGIO Newport Beach Shootout, which was played April 21-23, was seen by over 1.25 million viewers across CBS, CBS Sports Network and Tennis Channel.
“This is a monumental moment for pickleball and underscores the fact that pickleball is truly a great sport to watch on TV,” said Connor Pardoe, CEO of the PPA Tour. “People have doubted if pickleball would translate to national broadcasts. This major milestone clearly proves that people are excited about and seeking out pickleball on TV. Through our mix of national and cross-platform broadcast partners, we’ll continue to grow the game and showcase the best pickleball the world has to offer.”
This viewership is comprised of one hour of national coverage on CBS, three hours of CBS Sports Network coverage, four hours of Tennis Channel coverage and live streamed coverage on YouTube. The tournament outperformed major sporting events throughout the week including three playoff basketball games and 17 professional baseball games.
This news comes on the heels of a broadcast deal between the PPA Tour and CBS Sports, where the network will air over 30 hours of the PPA Tour’s 2023 schedule.
"The caliber of competition is absolutely amazing,” said Billy Stone of CBS Sports. “The athleticism of these athletes is off the charts. The ebbs and flows of individual rallies, teams switching from offense to defense, is remarkable. I can't wait to see more of this."
Viewers of the Newport Beach Shootout saw J.W. Johnson dominate and win two gold medals, taking home his first gold medal of the season in mixed doubles alongside his sister, Jorja, before adding a second gold medal in men’s doubles Sunday with Dylan Frazier. Johnson improved to 29-5 this season in men’s doubles and is now 23-10 in mixed doubles.
Week in and week out, fans have unprecedented access to tune into world-class pickleball with events aired nationally on networks like ABC, CBS, ESPN, Tennis Channel, CBS Sports and Prime Video.
