A shot of Ross Whitaker and Christopher Howarth during the first round of professional men’s doubles at the 2023 BioFreeze USA Pickleball National Championships at Brookhaven Country Club on November 8, 2023 in Dallas, Texas. Thomas Wilson prepares to bat.
Bruce Yong | Getty Images Sports | Getty Images
QVCthe owner of the television and streaming home shopping network, has signed a deal with USA Pickleball to bring the sport to its platform.
QVC has acquired exclusive broadcast rights to USA Pickleball, the sport’s national governing body, in a multi-year partnership. The deal begins with USA Pickleball’s 2024 Biofreeze USA Pickleball National Championships in November and will be featured on QVC’s free streaming platform, QVC+/HSN+.
QVC, a subsidiary of John Malone’s Qurate Retail, combines the shopping experience with live competition. As part of the partnership, QVC will also become USA Pickleball’s exclusive retail partner.
The deal signals the media industry’s continued gravitational pull towards live sports, which attracts the largest audiences on both traditional television and streaming.
For QVC, the choice to introduce pickleball was intentional.
Earlier this year, QVC launched a new brand platform called Age of Possibility aimed at women over 50, said Annette Dunleavy, QVC’s vice president of brand marketing.
“Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in America and resonates with that demographic,” Dunleavy said. “We thought these two perfect partners could come together and we wanted to partner with them to bring sports to life in a different and unique way for our viewers. Ta.”
Pickleball is booming in the United States and is said to be the fastest growing sport in the country. According to QVC and USA Pickleball, more than 5 million women over the age of 45 are actively involved in the sport.
Pickleball courts are popping up in major U.S. cities, while the sport is also getting big media rights deals, including a partnership between the Professional Pickleball Association Tour and the Tennis Channel.
As QVC builds out its streaming platform, it has been experimenting with live shows and events, including the “Ultimate Gift Wrapping Challenge” series and actress Busy Philipps’ late-night talk show “Busy This Week.”
“If you look at an example of a highly relevant and highly successful piece of media, it’s live sports,” said Stacie Tedesco, vice president of streaming at Qurate Retail Group. “It was really the perfect place to go next.”
