The Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) will launch an upgraded online video service on pba.com that provides subscribers with improved video streaming and navigable capabilities.
Bowling fans can click here, to sign up and take advantage of a free seven-day trial beginning the week of July 7 (must sign up by July 21).
As part of programming during the free trial, Xtra Frame will broadcast the 2009 Japan Cup won by Patrick Allen and featuring a 300 game by Rhino Page in the semifinal match. Bowling fans will also be able to view new profiles of the 18 players who competed in the GEICO PBA Team Shootout during this free trial.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Landmark TV Deal for Professional Bowling
More than 116.5 million European households from the North Pole to the Mediterranean, from the Atlantic Ocean to Asia, will have an opportunity to watch the world’s greatest bowlers in action thanks to a landmark television agreement announced June 29th by the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA), KPTV in England and the German Bowling Proprietors Association (GBPA).
In response to an initiative by the German proprietors’ honorary president, Ferdi Janka, the three groups have finalized plans to air 20 Lumbers Liquidators PBA Tour events from the 2008-09 season plus another 20 from the upcoming 2009-10 season.
“The result of this agreement,” said KPTV founder and owner Phil Mison, “is that millions of European bowling fans will have their first opportunity in 10 years to watch a bowling series on TV.”
“For the PBA, it’s another giant step forward in giving our growing international fan base a chance to watch the best players in the world in action over an extended period of time,” said PBA Deputy Commissioner Tom Clark. “It will be especially exciting for European bowling fans because there are more and more world-class international players who are a part of our tour. It’ll be great that fans in Finland can watch Mika Koivuniemi, and British fans can cheer for Stuart Williams as well as the superstars of our American tour.”
“For nearly 10 years, the German Bowling Proprietors Association has been working to place bowling on television on a regular basis,” noted Volker Klien, GBPA Vice President. “Our organization’s 250 members were very happy to provide our support to make this PBA series happen in Europe. It is a very happy and exciting time for bowlers throughout Europe.”
The expansive package will result in PBA Tour telecasts will be aired in 20 languages to 59 nations on Eurosport Television beginning July 9. A minimum of 10 PBA events from the 2008-09 season will air Fridays in prime time on Eurosport 1, the broadcast system’s largest and most popular channel. Another 10 will air weekday evenings on Eurosport 2, which is Eurosport’s equivalent of ESPN2 in the United States.
“This process began two years ago when Eurosport agreed to air the finals of the Bowling World Cup,” Mison said. “The success of World Cup telecasts two years in a row led Eurosport to ask for more bowling events. Their leap of faith, thanks to the cooperation of the PBA and the funding support of the German Bowling Proprietors Association, made it all possible.
European bowling fans will now go from no bowling on television two years ago to 120 hours of bowling coverage between July and Christmas, and more after the start of the new year.”
“This is one of the most important landmarks in our organization’s history,” Klien said. “We will open the appeal of bowling to a huge new audience, and it is all possible because people who love bowling got their heads together and made it happen.”
“Bowling fans around the world have heard of Walter Ray Williams Jr., Norm Duke, Pete Weber and the other great stars of the PBA,” Clark added. “Now, for the first time, millions of bowling enthusiasts in Europe will be able to put faces with the names. And don’t forget, the PBAWomen’s Series will also be a part of this package, so we haven’t forgotten that side of the sport.”
In response to an initiative by the German proprietors’ honorary president, Ferdi Janka, the three groups have finalized plans to air 20 Lumbers Liquidators PBA Tour events from the 2008-09 season plus another 20 from the upcoming 2009-10 season.
“The result of this agreement,” said KPTV founder and owner Phil Mison, “is that millions of European bowling fans will have their first opportunity in 10 years to watch a bowling series on TV.”
“For the PBA, it’s another giant step forward in giving our growing international fan base a chance to watch the best players in the world in action over an extended period of time,” said PBA Deputy Commissioner Tom Clark. “It will be especially exciting for European bowling fans because there are more and more world-class international players who are a part of our tour. It’ll be great that fans in Finland can watch Mika Koivuniemi, and British fans can cheer for Stuart Williams as well as the superstars of our American tour.”
“For nearly 10 years, the German Bowling Proprietors Association has been working to place bowling on television on a regular basis,” noted Volker Klien, GBPA Vice President. “Our organization’s 250 members were very happy to provide our support to make this PBA series happen in Europe. It is a very happy and exciting time for bowlers throughout Europe.”
The expansive package will result in PBA Tour telecasts will be aired in 20 languages to 59 nations on Eurosport Television beginning July 9. A minimum of 10 PBA events from the 2008-09 season will air Fridays in prime time on Eurosport 1, the broadcast system’s largest and most popular channel. Another 10 will air weekday evenings on Eurosport 2, which is Eurosport’s equivalent of ESPN2 in the United States.
“This process began two years ago when Eurosport agreed to air the finals of the Bowling World Cup,” Mison said. “The success of World Cup telecasts two years in a row led Eurosport to ask for more bowling events. Their leap of faith, thanks to the cooperation of the PBA and the funding support of the German Bowling Proprietors Association, made it all possible.
European bowling fans will now go from no bowling on television two years ago to 120 hours of bowling coverage between July and Christmas, and more after the start of the new year.”
“This is one of the most important landmarks in our organization’s history,” Klien said. “We will open the appeal of bowling to a huge new audience, and it is all possible because people who love bowling got their heads together and made it happen.”
“Bowling fans around the world have heard of Walter Ray Williams Jr., Norm Duke, Pete Weber and the other great stars of the PBA,” Clark added. “Now, for the first time, millions of bowling enthusiasts in Europe will be able to put faces with the names. And don’t forget, the PBAWomen’s Series will also be a part of this package, so we haven’t forgotten that side of the sport.”
PBA Names Hyatt Host Hotel
The Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) has announced an agreement with the Hyatt
Regency Dearborn to be the official headquarter hotel for the PBA World Series of Bowling which
kicks off this August in suburban Detroit. The agreement enables PBA fans and bowlers to take
advantage of a $99 room rate at the AAA Four-Diamond hotel throughout the entire run of the event,
which begins Aug. 2 and runs through Sept. 6
The World Series of Bowling opens with the PBA Motor City Open which will take place at longtime
PBA host center Taylor Lanes in Taylor, Mich., from Aug. 2-6. The remainder of the World Series of
Bowling, including six exempt PBA Tour events, the return of the PBA Women’s Series presented
by USBC and a revamped PBA Senior Tour World Championship will be held at Thunderbowl Lanes
in Allen Park, Mich., The revolutionary festival of competitive bowling boasts a $2 million prize fund
and seven ESPN telecasts.
The Hyatt is conveniently located to the tournament sites and includes complimentary parking
privileges. Additional hotel accommodations include the Guilio & Sons Italian restaurant, Archimedes
bar and Perks Coffee Shop.
The hotel is within walking distance of eight full-service restaurants and approximately one mile west
of Dearborn which features more than 30 restaurants and shopping attractions. Also less than a mile
away is the historic Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village.
Reservations may be made by calling (313) 593-1234 or (800) 233-1234 and mentioning the PBA
World Series of Bowling. Guest arrivals prior to Aug. 16 should visit Dearborn Hyatt and for guest
arrivals after Aug. 15 click Hyatt.
For more information click: the World Series of Bowling.
GEICO PBA Team Shootout Sunday
Bowling fans will be treated to three and half hours of televised bowling Sunday when seven matches
of the GEICO Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Team Shootout Hosted by Six Flags will
be aired on ESPN beginning at 1 p.m. Eastern.
Team GEICO, with Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour stars Chris Barnes, Patrick Allen, Mike Wolfe, Mika
Koivuniemi, reigning Player of the Year Wes Malott and Brad Angelo, has taken a 2-1 lead after four
round-robin matches in the made-for-TV team tournament.
Conducted outdoors on specially-constructed lanes at New Jersey’s Six Flags Great Adventure
theme park, three of the best teams ever assembled compete in a Baker Scoring System format which
requires five members of the team to roll two frames in one game combining for one score.
Trailing Team GEICO, is Team Bayer (Tommy Jones, Jason Belmonte, Sean Rash, Rhino Page,
Michael Fagan and Bill O’Neill) with a 1-1 record and Team Lumber Liquidators (Norm Duke, Mike
Scroggins, Pete Weber, Steve Jaros, Parker Bohn III and Walter Ray Williams Jr.) at 1-2.
All three teams bowl in round-robin match play on a variety of lane conditioning patterns leading up
to a championship round. The top two teams based on match play record will advance to a
championship contest that includes singles, doubles and Baker-style team matches. The championship
round will air on ESPN on Sunday, July 12.
GEICO PBA Team Shootout standings (as of June 28)
Team GEICO 2-1
Team Bayer 1-1
Team Lumber Liquidators 1-2
Three Bowlers Finalists for an ESPY
Wes Malott, Norm Duke and Chris Barnes are the finalists in ESPN’s annual ESPYs sports awards
competition which will conclude with the annual black-tie ESPYs Awards Show airing Sunday, July
19, in Los Angeles.
Malott, the 2008-09 Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour Player of the Year points champion, won three
titles, won the Tour average title (222.98) and banked $174,680 in official earnings. The Pflugerville,
Texas, resident concluded the season by winning the King of Bowling powered by Amp Energy
special event series, bowling two nationally-televised 300 games in the process.
Duke, from Clermont, Fla., won three titles including the PBA World Championship on his way to a
Tour-best $199,630 in earnings. Barnes, from Double Oak, Texas, won a pair of Lumber Liquidators
PBA Tour titles, was second in television appearances with eight (one behind Malott) and won the
USBC Clash of Champions to conclude his season.
Fan voting is underway on the ESPYs.tv web site and ends July 11. In addition to ESPN’s “Best
Bowler” category, voting is available in 36 other categories.
The ESPYs finale will take place at Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles on Wednesday, July 15, and will be
taped to air on ESPN on Sunday, July 19, at 9 p.m. Eastern.
GEICO PBA Team Shootout
Team Bayer, featuring Lumber Liquidators Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour stars
Rhino Page, Michael Fagan, Bill O’Neill, Sean Rash, two-hander Jason Belmonte and Tommy Jones,
took a 1-0 lead after the first day of GEICO PBA Team Shootout competition.
The GEICO PBA Team Shootout Hosted by Six Flags was conducted outdoors on specially
constructed lanes at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, N.J., June 11-13. Round-robin team
matches air Sundays on ESPN through July 12.
Team Bayer won its first round-robin Baker format match by defeating Team GEICO (Brad Angelo,
Mike Wolfe, Chris Barnes, Mika Koivuniemi, Wes Malott and Patrick Allen), 231-210.
The Baker scoring format requires five members of the team to roll two frames in one game to
combine for one score, but the GEICO competition also includes a unique “Endless 10th Frame.” If the
team that is behind in the match strikes on its final ball in the 10th frame, it can continue throwing
shots as long as each is a strike. Each bonus strike is worth 10 points. If the opposing team loses its
lead, it can then try to rally in its own “Endless 10th Frame” only if its anchor bowler also has struck
on his final ball.
In the opening match, Team Bayer held the lead going into the final frame, but Team GEICO’s
Malott struck on his fill ball for a 210 and the right to continue. But Angelo, the team’s leadoff bowler,
failed to strike on his first “Endless 10th Frame” attempt.
In its second match, Team GEICO evened its record at 1-1 by defeating Team Lumber Liquidators
(Norm Duke, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Steve Jaros, Mike Scroggins, Parker Bohn III and Pete Weber),
208-198, when Team GEICO rallied in the bonus round. The regulation game ended with Lumber
Liquidators leading, 198-188, thanks to Duke’s three strikes in the 10th frame.
Because Malott converted a 10 pin and struck on his second shot in the 10th frame, Team GEICO
still had a chance. Barnes, bowling in the leadoff position, and Allen, bowling second in the lineup,
threw bonus strikes to erase Lumber Liquidators’ 10-pin advantage and put their team into the
lead. Scroggins, Lumber Liquidators’ leadoff bowler, then had a chance to get his team back into
contention, but he failed to strike.
During the GEICO PBA Shootout, all three teams will bowl 12 round-robin matches on a variety of
lane conditioning patterns leading up to a championship round. The top two teams based on match
play record will advance to a championship contest which include singles, doubles and Baker-style
team matches. The championship round will air on ESPN on Sunday, July 12.
GEICO PBA Team Shootout standings (as of June 21)
Team Bayer 1-0
Team GEICO 1-1
Team Lumber Liquidators 1-1
ESPN GEICO PBA Team Shootout Schedule (all times Eastern)
July 5 (five shows)
1-1:30 p.m. – Show 7
1:30-2 p.m. – Show 8
2-2:30 p.m. – Show 9
2:30-3 p.m. – Show 10
3-3:30 p.m. – Show 11
July 12 (four shows)
1-1:30 p.m. – Show 12
1:30-2 p.m. – Show 13
2–2:30 p.m. – Show 14
2:30-3 p.m. – Show 15
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)