CBS Sports Network Signs Multi-Year Agreement with PBA

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.