PBA, CBS Sports Network Sign Multi-Year Television Agreement; Debut Set for GEICO PBA

[Bizwan65]

http://news.pba.com/post/2013/3/12/P...e-in-June.aspx

SEATTLE – The Professional Bowlers Association and CBS Sports Network have entered into a multi-year television agreement that features a series of five telecasts originating from the new GEICO PBA Summer Swing in Milwaukee in June.

The agreement, announced Tuesday by PBA CEO Geoff Reiss and Dan Weinberg, Senior Vice President, Programming, CBS Sports Network, includes five two-hour telecasts featuring stepladder finalists from four PBA Summer Swing events, and concludes with a GEICO PBA Summer King of the Swing special event featuring the top five competition points leaders from the Summer Swing events.

Summer Swing telecasts debut Tuesday, June 11 (7:00 PM, ET) on CBS Sports Network and continue for five consecutive Tuesdays at 7:00 PM, ET.

“We're thrilled at how committed CBS Sports Network is to the PBA and we're looking forward to their telecasts of the debut of the Summer Swing,” Reiss said. “The PBA's long-term success is predicated on developing great partnerships and we're looking forward to working with everyone at CBS Sports Network to grow both the PBA and the Network.”

”We’re excited to partner with the PBA and showcase the world’s best bowlers,” Weinberg said. “The PBA has a storied history and an established fan base and we’re pleased to add it to our extensive lineup of event programming.”

The GEICO PBA Summer Swing is a new series of PBA Tour events which will be contested on three new “animal pattern” lane conditions that will debut in Milwaukee. The qualifying segments of the PBA Badger Open, PBA Wolf Open and PBA Bear Open will be hosted by three different Milwaukee area bowling centers (AMF Waukesha, AMF West and AMF Bowlero) between May 19-30. The cumulative pinfall totals from the three animal pattern events will qualify players for the Milwaukee Open, the fourth event in the series, and the GEICO PBA Summer King of the Swing will feature the top five points leaders based on the four previous events.

The Badger Open finals will air on June 11, the Wolf Open on June 18, the Bear Open on June 25, the Milwaukee Open on July 2 and the GEICO PBA Summer King of the Swing on July 9. All will be two-hour, five-player stepladder finals.

CBS Sports Network, the 24-hour home of CBS Sports, is available to 100 million homes nationwide through local cable, video and telco providers including Verizon FiOS (Channel 94) and AT&T U-Verse (Channel 643, 1643 in HD) and via satellite on DirecTV (Channel 613) and Dish Network (Channel 158).

Len DeLuca of LD Associates served as an advisor to the PBA in completing the CBS Sports Network agreement.

[billf]

Cool. Anything other than ONLY ESPN is a step in the right direction!

[RoccoRock]

Not sure about that Bill. It's going to be buried on the CBS Sports network, which not only does no one watch, but 99 percent of the county doesn't even know the channel exists. Who knows what kind of idiots they are going to get to call the games, although they can't be worse than Gary Cohn last year. It will be interesting to see what CBS does, but I don't don't think ESPN is that bad. At least people watch ESPN, and they get some exposure. They will be invisible on CBS Sports.

[Bizwan65]

Got to start somewhere. A small audience is better than no audience.

[americantrotter]

Ive watched some USBC collegiate stuff on CBS it's not that bad actually. Plus they replay their stuff a lot, something ESPN hardly ever does.

[billf]

I don't have a problem with ESPN in and of itself. I'm just glad that if the PBA is going to sign an exclusive television contract that it was with a network looking to expand it's sports coverage.

[ArtVandelay]

I hate espn...


Thats all I wanted to say. Hahaha

[Zothen]

I'm sad! I don't get the CBS sports network and wish they kept ESPN. They will lose a lot of viewers in my opinion!

Zothen

[RoccoRock]

Ok, I'm officially pissed about this move. I just found out that the CBS Sports Network is not included with my current package. In order to get it I have to spend an additional $15 a month. WTF!!! This piece of garage network, with absolutely nothing good on it will cost me more money. I love the PBA, and I can't imagine not watching it on TV, but there is no way in hell I'm paying $15 a month for this waste of a channel just to watch one thing. The PBA screwed this one up big time. This is the beginning of the end for bowling on TV. F.U. PBA!!!!