PBA Playoffs Finale Caps Strong Viewership Surges on FOX Sports

Sunday’s PBA Playoffs Championship on FOX delivers most-watched PBA telecast since February

LOS ANGELES (June 6, 2019) – FOX Sports today announced that viewership of this year’s Professional Bowlers Association competition has surged through the first five months of 2019 Go Bowling! PBA Tour telecasts. To date, 20,923,000 viewers have tuned-in to watch PBA on FOX, FS1, or FS2, including repeats, up 85 percent over the total audience for the entire 2018 season (11,327,000 viewers).

“The PBA's move to FOX Sports has revitalized the entire sport,” PBA CEO and Commissioner Tom Clark said. “In this first year of our partnership, we've already seen dramatically improved production values, promotion and buzz putting the PBA in its best position in decades. We're most proud that our players have delivered historic and inspiring action on the lanes and our fans have brought the passion in sold out venues around the country to match.”

“We’re thrilled with the viewership the 2019 Go Bowling! PBA Tour has delivered this year on FOX Sports,” says Bill Wanger, FOX Sports EVP, Programming, Live Operations and Research. “The shows have been exciting, the bowlers are captivating and colorful, and crowds enthusiastic. The PBA is quickly becoming must-watch sports television.”

On Sunday, the inaugural PBA Playoffs finals on FOX delivered 662,000 viewers as Kris Prather captured the championship to claim $100,000, the biggest first-place prize in more than eight years. Sunday's delivery was 20 percent better than first-run PBA telecasts averaged on TV in 2018 (553,000 viewers) and ranks as the most-watched PBA telecast since FOX's February 10, 2019 airing of the PBA Tournament of Champions that delivered 1,132,000 viewers.

A total of 7,941,000 viewers watched the series of PBA Playoffs telecasts across FOX, FS1 and FS2 including repeats. 

Earlier in the season, FOX had the most-watched bowling telecast of any kind on any network since 2005, with the PBA Clash averaging 1.8 million viewers. 

FOX Sports coverage of the 2019 Go Bowling! PBA Tour resumes Tuesday, July 16 at 7 p.m. ET on FS1 with the first of three consecutive nights of live coverage of the PBA League Elias Cup finals from Bayside Bowl in Portland, Maine.

For more information, visit FOX Sports Press Pass.         

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