America’s fastest-growing sport has upped its television presence. 

The Association of Pickleball Professionals announced TV deals with CBS and ESPN for the APP Tour on Monday.

Terms were not disclosed, but APP stated the twin deals guarantee a combined 20 hours of TV coverage for its tour events this year across CBS Sports Network and ESPN2. The deals include:

• Twelve hours of live matches and highlight-driven programs on CBS Sports Network.
• Eight hours of event recap telecasts on the ESPN2 cable network.
• Over 200 hours of live streaming coverage on ESPN+ and APP TV.

A Growth Spurt

In 2022, Pickleball ranked as the country’s fastest-growing sport for the second year in a row. The sport saw more than 36.5 million people in the U.S. play between August 2021 and August 2022.

There are 16 APP Tour events on the schedule for this year. Founded in 2019, the tour kicked off its 2023 season in Punta Gorda, Florida. The APP Daytona Beach Open is next in Holly Hill, Florida, from Feb. 8-12.

Fanatics is reportedly exploring an acquisition to accelerate a move into sports betting.

The major sports merchandise and collectibles retailer is in talks to buy BetParx, a sportsbook launched last year, according to CNBC.

• Fanatics opened its first sportsbook on Friday, located inside the Washington Commanders’ FedEx Field.
• The company has said it aims to be in every state where sports betting is legal by September.
• BetParx, which offers online sports betting and iGaming, is active in New Jersey, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Ohio.

While the report notes that a letter of intent has been signed, there is no guarantee that a deal will come to pass. Fanatics has reportedly looked into buying Tipico and PointsBet, among others, before ultimately passing on those acquisitions. 

Fanatics did not immediately return a request for comment.

Public Play

Fanatics has been considering a public listing for a long time and it may opt to first secure a sportsbook acquisition, according to reports. 

Fanatics was last valued at $31 billion after raising $700 million in December with an eye toward mergers and acquisitions. The company said at the time it projects $8 billion in 2023 revenue across its commerce, collectibles, and betting and gaming divisions.

Fanatics said earlier this month that it was divesting from its 60% in NFT business Candy Digital, with CEO Michael Rubin saying “NFTs are unlikely to be sustainable or profitable as a standalone business.”

Juventus is starting the second half of its season with a point cut in the domestic standings.

The Federal Appeal Court of the FIGC, Italy’s football federation, penalized the Serie A club with a 15-point reduction for fixing their balance sheets with false gains from player transfers between 2019 and 2021.

• Prosecutors reportedly initially requested only a nine-point reduction.
• Eight other clubs that were investigated were acquitted in the appeal ruling.

The point reduction moves the club — which Forbes last valued at $2.45 billion — from third place to ninth in the Serie A rankings, which means it likely won’t qualify for European tournaments. 

Juventus, which has been owned by the Agnelli family since 1923, announced that it plans to appeal the ruling to the Sport Guarantee Board, which can’t amend the penalty, but can order the case to be rerun if there were procedural issues. The penalty will be removed if the appeal is successful.

Board Bans

Eleven top managers at the club have been temporarily banned, including a two-year ban from Italian soccer for former Juventus president and chairman Andrea Agnelli and a 30-month ban for Fabio Paratici, Juventus’ ex-sporting director and Tottenham’s current managing director of football.

Agnelli and Juventus’ entire board of directors resigned last November following allegations of wrongdoing associated with the club’s financial statements.