Pro Pickleball is (Finally) Getting Views

Adam Forziati

Team The Kitchen

Last Edited

Aug 30 2024

Category

News

The sad narrative which ardent pickleball fans have endured over the last few years is that their sport just isn't right for TV.

Until recently, they didn't have any way to combat that assertion with hard evidence. Streaming views aren't exactly soaring.

But behind the scenes, pro leagues have brokered deals with networks and other investors, bringing record streaming, broadcast, and in-person exposure to the masses.

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"The PPA Tour is on fire!" PPA's Connor Pardoe exclaimed proudly on LinkedIn recently.

According to Pardoe, the PPA Tour's San Clemente event in June garnered:

926,000 broadcast views
380,000 hours watched on YouTube
11,888 attendees and 1,333 unique players
8.71M social media impressions with a 5% engagement rate

More recently, the Utah PPA stop in August garnered 3.3 million views across all platforms.

For comparison, the PGA Tour's Phoenix Open in golf only earned 2.38 million viewers on its final day — plus, the Utah PPA stop wasn't a season-defining event.

It's not just pro pickleball views which are often seen as negatively low. In-person ticket sales have been called into question over the last few years.

But PPA's actual metrics prove otherwise.

"We're on track for a 73% increase in ticket sales from 2023 to 2024," a representative told The Kitchen Pickleball.

Industry experts predict a continued upward trajectory in viewership, with pickleball's popularity expected to grow by over 40% in the next five years.

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