This is the second year of the Pickleball Business Forum and it’s incredible to see the growth of the sport from every aspect of pickleball business. From pro pickleball players to business leaders and changemakers of pickleball as Bob Whyley, the Senior VP of Production and the Executive Producer of the Tennis Channel, said: “The best is yet to come.”

Panelists shared their professional insights to the changing landscapes of pickleball sponsorships, advertising, broadcasting, and infrastructure.

Pro pickleball players Genie Bouchard and Jack Sock shared social media strategies and the importance of a captivated virtual audience to help grow the sport. 

“Participation is not the issue. Everyone wants to play. So of course, we want to keep growing that. But I think the next step is viewership. But we have to get people wanting to watch pro pickleball live and getting those huge numbers. TV rights will help the sport grow so much,” said Bouchard.

“Honestly, just look at the numbers and viewership,” added Sock. “If you go on YouTube and look at the videos, there’s hundreds of thousands of views on matches. It’s the fastest growing sport in the country and I don’t think it’s stopping anytime soon.”

Connor Pardoe, CEO of the PPA Tour noticed that before he even founded the PPA in 2018, when he was watching a local pickleball tournament with his dad, he noticed, “I was having more fun watching this local pickleball tournament than I was watching the US Open earlier that year.”

That idea of the fun and joy of watching the game is a core value for the PPA Tour which shares all professional matches to their YouTube channel. 

“Two years ago, we had to explain to people what pickleball was. Now, it’s cool, it’s hot, it’s fun, it’s relatable, it’s great for all skill levels and all walks of life. Now, we’re focused on bringing more eyes to the sport,” continued Pardoe. 

Pickleballtv launched this time last year at the Biofreeze USA Pickleball National Championships. The growth in viewership in this one year has been reflective of just how much people love pickleball. 

On No. 5 2024, they launched the Pickleballtv app where pickleball fanatics can tune in live, rewind, rewatch, and gain access to a variety of lifestyle content for $5.99 a month. 

But when it comes to a sport that people participate in, many worry that it won’t translate well and get those high numbers in broadcast. But after listening in to the forum, it’s clear that couldn’t be further from the truth. 

People want to watch, understand, and learn the strategic elements of the game that the pros implement, so that viewers at home can try out on their local court to increase that DUPR score. 

And with the growth Pickleballtv has seen, Whyley shared his personal goal of having 100,000 subscriptions for Pickleballtv by the end of 2025. 

“When people start watching, they fall in love with it. They see the men and women who have incredibly quick reflexes and those firefights and cat and mouse with dinking. I want people to fall in love with the sport from a media perspective by watching pickleball. I want them to fall in love with the players and the tours,” said Whyley. 

Not only is viewership greatly increasing with a virtual audience, the number of spectators is monumental at Lapiplasty Pickleball World Championships. There are 50,000 on site to watch and participate in the amateur events. This truly is the Super Bowl of professional pickleball.