MLP Finals on CBS deliver second-most watched pro pickleball match of all-time
Major League Pickleball (MLP) delivered the second-most watched professional pickleball match of all-time on any network, with Saturday’s MLP Finals between the Columbus Sliders and New Jersey 5s broadcast on CBS drawing 433,000 average viewers, per Nielsen.
The broadcast, which featured the first in a best-of-three match series, out-delivered other nationally broadcast weekend sports competition, including LIV Golf on Saturday, LPGA on Sunday, and PBR on both Saturday and Sunday.
The event was hosted at CityPickle at Wollman Rink in New York City’s Central Park and played in front of sellout crowds all weekend, capping MLP’s 2025 season of 10 regular season events, a Mid-Season Tournament, and two rounds of Playoffs, all from April-August.
League season-to-date highlights as of the end of the regular season featured strong year-over-year growth across a multitude of business and fan engagement areas, including sponsor revenue (more than double last year’s total), ticket revenue (+28%), social media impressions (+277%), YouTube views (+156%), total minutes viewed on Pickleballtv (+105%), and telecast hours (+83% on linear TV across national, RSN, and local partnerships).
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