Crakes characterized pickleball as a “tier three” media entity — for now. He, like others, said the more pickleball programming that can be seen on established TV, the better for the sport in the long run, due to a discoverability element of linear TV that doesn’t always exist for streamers.
“That is still one of the last strategic advantages of the traditional TV system,” he said.
Claygate’s Sternberg said converting the core participant base into TV and streaming viewers is a priority. He suggested providing USA Pickleball members — there were nearly 70,000 at the end of 2022 — with discounted access to streaming services that feature pickleball programming.
Some experts recommended investing in better quality production and adding new components for broadcasts, including improved camera technology and betting integrations. But all of which, of course, costs money.
“Creating more of a connection between the audience and the players is where the market is moving towards,” said Octagon’s Mao, who also posed placing microphones on players, especially in doubles competition, for fans to understand more nuanced strategies. Other budding pro leagues, like the Premier Lacrosse League, have turned to micing up players (and even referees) as a way to promote big personalities.
Executives said one of pickleball’s advantages as a game — the notion that nearly anyone can pick up a paddle and feel like they can play competitively — is also one of its biggest problems from a viewership perspective. Broadcasts need to showcase just how much more talented professional pickleball players are than the average participant, they said.
Producing original content, providing behind-the-scenes access and tapping into the social media audience of celebrity owners are other ways stakeholders have floated broadening the sport’s following.
Next month, four tennis legends, including Andre Agassi and John McEnroe, are scheduled to compete for a $1 million purse in the inaugural Pickleball Slam, which will be held at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Fla., and exclusively aired on ESPN. Sternberg and USA Pickleball’s Upson said more events like that one is what the sport needs as it transitions into a media product.
“If pickleball wants to grow its audience, the sport has to invest in storytelling around its athletes,” said the Association of Pickleball Professionals’ Chief Marketing Officer Tom Webb, who added that Netflix’s popular F1 “Drive to Survive” docuseries is a lesson for pickleball executives on growing awareness and engagement around a sport. “There are tens of millions of people playing the sport who currently don’t know who the pro players are.”
Some executives, like Columbia’s Favorito, are less convinced of the sport’s appeal as a TV play, no matter how many celebrity tournaments or all-access documentaries it produces.
“Could you have great storytelling around some pickleball players, whether they’re 15 or 50? You could,” Favorito said, “but is that really a mass market opportunity?”
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