FARMERS BRANCH, TX - During this action-packed week at Nationals, pickleball broadcasting took another giant step forward with the launch of PickleballTV or PBTV on Nov. 7. 

Viewers can access PBTV on PickleballTV.com, Amazon Freevee, and Fubo, and a mobile app is currently being developed as well.

With an enhanced production crew, PBTV will be able to stream more action on the courts than ever before. The pro coverage previously consisted of only two courts, and though PBTV is still new, five courts are already being broadcast simultaneously at Nationals with plans to expand. Now, viewers can pick and choose which match they want to follow.

“We’re not just featuring the pros, though that’s certainly a big part of the live coverage and the replays of great matches,” said broadcaster Dave Fleming. "There’s also instructional, short form, and getting to know the players. We’re all addicted to the sport, and now we have a channel for it.”

Tennis Channel CEO Ken Solomon and Executive Producer Bob Whyley are using their knowledge and expertise to spearhead PBTV.

“We made a lot of mistakes along the way when developing the Tennis Channel. We learned how to do it and what not to do,” said Solomon.

“We’re coming to a sport where we have over 20 years of experience creating a product that we love and with people we’re in harmony with,” explained Whyley.

Simply put, PBTV is in good hands.

“The idea of a Tennis Channel was pretty crazy 20 years ago. Once people came to the Channel, it created a destination where anyone in the country knew they could see tennis 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year," said Solomon. "We thought creating a destination would work – and it did. There's a deep passion for this game that has only begun to be introduced to the world, and everyone who plays it wants to know more and be involved more.”

PBTV is the perfect platform. It is ubiquitously available to everyone, so that viewers can easily find the content they’re looking for. 

If there’s a pro match or some analysis fans are eager to see, this is the channel to find it. PBTV aims to guarantee comprehensive coverage.

“For PBTV, we’ll be close to 80 million homes by the end of the year. It took us 15 years to get that done with Tennis Channel,” said Solomon.

Whyley also shared some of the technical aspects of filming the matches.

“When filming tennis matches, the game camera was at the end zone. It doesn’t move much and you don’t see anything until the point is over and there’s cutaway live shots and replays. Pickleball will not work the same way as tennis with the endzone camera because it doesn’t show the difficulty or the fast hands of the sport. Instead, they’re covering from a jib camera at the 50-yard line because most of the action happens right at the kitchen,” he explained.

This not only creates a dynamic viewing experience, it also makes it unique to the sport.

PBTV coverage has only begun, and with its ability to reach an international audience, the love of the game will continue to spread across the globe.