
MLP Finals on CBS set all-time league viewership record
Major League Pickleball (MLP) announced on Wednesday that it set an all-time league viewership record this past weekend, with 773,000 average viewers tuning in to the DoorDash MLP Finals – New York City powered by Toray on CBS, Sunday, Aug. 30, (Noon-1 p.m. ET), making it the second-most watched pro pickleball event in history on any network.
Sunday’s average viewership represents a 55% increase vs. last year’s MLP Finals coverage, also on CBS.
The 2026 MLP Finals culminated a record-breaking 2026 MLP season - nine regular season events, the Mid-Season Tournament, and early round playoff events in both Dallas and Newport Beach ahead of the NYC Finals. The No. 1-seeded New Jersey Fives, led by 2026 MLP MVP Anna Leigh Waters and owned by a group led by Gary Vaynerchuk, secured their first-ever season-long championship with a two-matches-to-none victory over the No. 2 seed St. Louis Shock.
The event - hosted at CityPickle at Wollman Rink in Central Park, the third straight year that the league hosted an event at the iconic venue - shattered the previous MLP single-event record for attendance with over 10,000 total fans across three days (five sessions), capping the league’s biggest and best season to date.
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