Q & A with PBA Chief Executive Officer and Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour Commissioner

[onefrombills]

SEATTLE, Wash. (March 2, 2009) – Entering the home stretch of the PBA’s Golden Anniversary Season, we thought it would be a good time to check in with Fred Schreyer, CEO of the Professional Bowlers Association and Commissioner of the Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour and get an update on the state of affairs in the world of professional bowling.

Q: There have been a lot of changes this year on the Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour. What has been the effect on ratings of the ESPN telecasts?
A: Our TV ratings are tracking favorably against last year’s numbers – up 1% in total households and 4% in total viewers – and more importantly have been markedly increasing since the start of the second half of the season. I expect that we will end the season with our ratings up on a year-to-year basis by at least 5%. There definitely seems to be a lot more buzz and water cooler talk about our telecasts this year than in years past. This bodes well for the future.

Q: How is the deal shaping up with ESPN for the much anticipated Spring Prime Time bowling series?
A: We are pleased our efforts to obtain a different time slot paid off with the primetime series opportunity provided to us by ESPN. Beginning on April 22 and continuing for five consecutive Wednesday nights at 9:00 PM EST, we will air the PBA King of Bowling Powered by Amp Energy. The series will feature the top stars in the PBA competing in a king of the hill format in which each week’s winner returns the following week to defend his crown. This will be a great opportunity to showcase our top players to a weeknight, primetime audience that might otherwise not get a chance to watch the Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour in our normal, Sunday 1 pm Eastern time slot. It also allows us to attract a different type of sponsor to our telecasts which in the long run should be a great benefit to us as well. Now, with the addition of the King of Bowling series and the return of the PBA Summer Series, PBA stars will be in action on ESPN from October through July. What a treat for our fans!

Q: Jason Belmonte was the first player to receive Commissioner’s exemptions for back-to-back events which was met with some controversy. Jason’s 10th place finish at the season-opening PBA World Championship and his 15th place finish at the Denny’s Dick Weber Open resulted in some very good national press coverage. Why did Belmonte get the back-to-back nods and how does this coverage help the PBA reach its goals?
A: The Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour is the biggest platform in bowling and the place where the best bowlers in the world compete. Jason, who is Australian, has been recognized as the best international bowler in the world not on the PBA Tour. He is a young dynamic player with a unique two-handed delivery who draws attention wherever he goes. We believed that by giving Jason back-to-back Commissioner’s exemptions and making it easier for him to commit to coming to the United States and bowling substantially more events than he had in the past, we would have the opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to expanding the PBA Tour internationally and at the same time capitalize on the increased attention Jason’s participation was likely to bring. To say that we have received increased publicity and exposure due to Jason’s participation this year would be a gross understatement. We have had front page coverage in the Wall Street Journal, a featured segment on ABC’s Good Morning America, and lead stories in the LA Times, Denver Post and many other publications. The higher profile we enjoy as a result of this increased publicity benefits everyone associated with the PBA – players, sponsors, advertisers, product registered companies and the industry as a whole. We look forward to Jason and other top international players competing more frequently on the PBA Tour in years to come.

Q: Many of the players are wearing the new Gemini jerseys, what has been the reaction and how are players taking advantage of the opportunity to brand themselves?
A: The reaction to the Gemini jersey has been overwhelmingly positive. Players like them, fans like them and the exposure afforded to the companies associated with the players has increased dramatically. The jersey provides a distinctive look that commands attention. The individual player is able to personalize the design of his jersey in a way that reflects more of his personality. In effect, the player is able to brand himself and offer his sponsors and partners the far more prominent exposure that comes along with this new look. We expect this program to grow dramatically in the next few years.

[onefrombills]

Q: The PBA Women’s Series sponsored by the United States Bowling Congress expanded to seven events this year with a season-ending PBA Women’s Series Showdown coming up on Sunday April 12. What has been the impact of adding the expanded Women’s Series to the schedule this season and what future PBA/USBC collaborations might we look forward to?
A: In its second year, the PBA Women’s Series Presented by USBC came back stronger with three more events than the previous year. Fans and players continue to respond favorably to watching the women compete alongside the men and through the expanded support of USBC we are able to offer the women a special event at the end of this season pitting the winners of the six regular season singles events against one another in a format conducted under the unique Petraglia scoring system. The PBA Women’s Series Showdown Presented by USBC will air April 12 as two separate one hour shows between 1:00 – 3:00 pm Eastern. The Showdown is part of a two year commitment by USBC and next year we will be adding to the men’s side the PBA Versatility Swing Championship where the winners of the regular season lane pattern championships – collectively referred to as the Versatility Swing – will compete in a season ending event as well. Both the Showdown and the Versatility Swing Championship will be conducted next year at the new USBC International Training and Research Center being constructed at the new international bowling campus in Arlington, Texas.

Q: The GEICO Plastic Ball Championship started many conversations from local bowling centers to ESPN’s Pardon the Interruption. Is it possible other sports are taking notice of this technology concept? How does this help the sponsors associated with the event including Lumber Liquidators and GEICO?
A: One of the most interesting developments from the GEICO Plastic Ball Championship is that the PBA has seized the initiative in highlighting the impact technology has had on sports in the last few decades. While no one is advocating abandoning the benefits technology has brought to sports, the concept of requiring each player to throw the same low tech bowling ball in a specific tournament is an idea that generates tremendous interest among fans and media alike. People want to see who is the best in a given week when everyone competes using the same equipment. It’s an idea that has been debated in other individual sports such as golf and tennis and the clamor for an event similar to the Plastic Ball Tournament in those sports is likely to continue. If and when it does, the PBA will be front and center in the discussion as the professional sports organization that addressed the issue first. The memory of the Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour GEICO Plastic Ball Championship is likely to live on for years to come.

Q: With the added media coverage and the interest of the new event formats gaining in the bowling world, how does the PBA plan to take advantage of the momentum being created?
A:The additional publicity and higher profile we have enjoyed this season provides us with the platform from which to grow our business. New events and new series should lead to new sponsors and new fans which ultimately should generate greater opportunities for our players.
Although we are operating in the same depressed economy as everyone else, we expect to continue to grow next year. Our new World Series of Bowling, which fans will be reading and hearing quite a bit about in the next several weeks, is one of the really exciting new things we have in store for next season. We continue to be very optimistic about the future of the PBA.”

Q: Many people called the 50th Anniversary PBA Gala at Red Rock in Las Vegas the single greatest night in the history of the Professional Bowlers Association. Please share your recollections of the cocktail reception, the PBA Hall of Fame ceremony and the recognition of the Greatest 50 Players in PBA History.
A: The entire week at Red Rock was spectacular. Most of the greats from the 50 year history of the PBA were present and many of them actually competed in the Tournament of Champions which, on its own, must be judged a tremendous event that culminated in a memorable title match between Patrick Allen and Rhino Page. The events leading up to Saturday evening’s Gala were fantastic. The 50 Greatest Autograph Session on Saturday afternoon saw lines of fans holding books (Luby Publishing’s 50 Greatest Players in PBA History was a huge success and is a must buy for any true PBA fan), posters and whatever other PBA memorabilia they could get their hands on waiting patiently to get autographs from the game’s greatest players. The lines were so long that the afternoon pro-ams in the center had to be delayed by over one hour to accommodate all of the autograph seekers. The Gala itself was an evening that I believe will never be forgotten by anyone in attendance. Bringing all of the major figures from our industry together for one evening to honor the greatest players in our history was truly beyond description. From the induction of Norm Duke, Del Ballard, Jr. and John Handegard into the PBA Hall of Fame to the countdown of the 50 greatest players in PBA history, including the announcement of Earl Anthony as the number one player of all time, the evening was special in many ways. Seeing the pride in the faces of the evening’s honorees as well as the sheer joy in the eyes of those of us lucky enough to be in attendance made the evening truly incredible. Of course, having Peggy Elias present and enthusiastically engaged in and enjoying the festivities tied the entire evening together. As I have only been a part of the PBA for the last seven years, I cannot and would not make the statement that this was the greatest night in the history of the PBA. Having heard that statement made over and over again by so many people in attendance, however, I can and do take tremendous pride on behalf of the entire PBA family in having been able to play a role in staging the Gala and providing our sport’s greatest ambassadors with the opportunity to produce such memories for so many people.