News

Tennis Channel and the United Pickleball Association (UPA) have launched an app in support of their co-owned pickleball-dedicated television network, Pickleballtv (PBTV). Available to all iOS and Android users, the Pickleballtv app is the sport’s most comprehensive media destination, with thousands of hours of live and on-demand matches from the PPA Tour and Major League Pickleball (MLP). This is in addition to exclusive viewing features and content dedicated to America’s fastest-growing sport. Fans can purchase the Pickleballtv app for $5.99 a month or $59.99 per year and, for a limited time, with a free, 30-day trial period for each.

As the parent company of the PPA Tour and MLP, the UPA is the steward of the highest level of professional pickleball in the world.

Introduced in November 2023, Pickleballtv offers more than 30 PPA Tour and MLP events, original programming and studio news shows. The network is available at no cost on Pickleballtv.com and a variety of other platforms (complete list below). In 2024, more than one billion minutes were watched by fans on Pickleballtv.com. The channel will continue to be free on these outlets as well as on its new app. App subscribers who want even more pickleball will have access to:

· More than 3,000 hours of live pickleball

· On-demand replays of every match

· DVR features that allow fans to pause, rewind and replay every exciting moment

· Instructional videos with tips and techniques for honing anyone’s pickleball game

· Celebrity competitions

· Additional pickleball-lifestyle programming

“The Pickleballtv app is the new home for everyone who can’t get enough of this sport,” said Bob Whyley, senior vice present, content production, and executive producer, Tennis Channel. “In just over a year the Tennis Channel and UPA partnership has led to more top-level pickleball on TV, a television network dedicated to the game, and now an app where recreational players and fans of the pros alike can get 24-hour access to all of the things that they love about pickleball.”

Tennis Channel and the PPA entered into a joint venture in September 2023, which carried over to the UPA with the merger of the PPA Tour and Major League Pickleball. The network produces all PPA Tour and MLP events and gives both brands broad coverage across its television and streaming platforms. Pickleballtv will offer extensive daily coverage during the PPA Tour’s Proton Tucson Open in Arizona this week, beginning Thursday, Feb. 6. A complete schedule can be found at PPATour.com/tournament/proton-tucson-open/.

“The fan base for professional pickleball is growing at incredible speeds, so the Pickleballtv app is an exciting and necessary addition to allow fans of the sport to follow the action and go behind-the-scenes with exclusive content,” said Connor Pardoe, founder and CEO of the Carvana PPA Tour. “The joint venture with the Tennis Channel has been incredible for the sport, and this marks a key step in bringing more valuable content to our passionate pickleball fans while sharing the sport with more new fans than ever before.”

Following the nationwide burst of pickleball interest in recent years, Pickleballtv has become the television home of PPA Tour and MLP fans. In addition to live and encore matches, the channel follows both tours with news-and-highlight show Pickleball Live. Original series My Pickleball Life take viewers behind the scenes with the game’s biggest stars, top-ranked players like Ben Johns, Anna Leigh Waters and Tyson McGuffin. Other programs focus on the various cultural aspects of pickleball, be they celebrity, on-court romance or humor. Pickleballtv also provides instructional information for the sport’s recreational players.

Additional Pickleballtv content can be found on Pickleballtv X (X.com/Pickleballtv), Pickleballtv Instagram (Instagram.com/Pickleballtv) and Pickleballtv TikTok (Tiktok.com/@Pickleballtv).

The channel is available for free to anyone in the United States on Pickleballtv.com, the new app, LG TV, Local Now, Philo, Plex, Roku and Samsung TV+. Subscribers of Amazon Prime Video, DIRECTV STREAM, Fubo and YouTube TV also receive Pickleballtv at no additional cost.