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Stephen Colbert has a new game that many TV networks would love to play.
With Pickleball all the rage and the need for sports programming growing by the day, CBS has teamed up with Colbert and Funny or Die to produce a popular tournament on November 17. The two-hour event may seem like a goof – and remind viewers old enough of “Battle of the Network Stars” in the ’70s – but it carries serious ramifications for an industry that increasingly relies on sports in all its forms.
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In “Pickled,” Colbert joins sportscasters Bill Raftery and Cari Champion to comment on the pickleball antics that have caught everyone from Sugar Ray Leonard to Will Ferrell and Emma Watson. According to Colbert, who started playing the racket in January, the competition in the scripted tournament is fierce: “You can’t be completely hired in Hollywood unless you’re competitive, and these people are out for blood all the time. “
So are the networks that may broadcast such programs. At a time when more and more people are turning to broadcasting, sports is the genre that seems to be able to attract more people to TV. The problem? Sports rights fees have grown from exorbitant to stratospheric, and many traditional media companies are pushing to the financial limit to keep live sports on their screens.
With that in mind, the network is looking beyond traditional league play. Warner Bros. Discovery gained traction with “The Match,” a prestigious golf tournament that often featured top soccer players. Nickelodeon’s Paramount Global piloted the “Slime Cup” golf tournament this past summer. “It’s really about managing and owning the intellectual property as opposed to leasing it, which is what networks often do with live sports,” said Daniel Cohen, EVP of global broadcast rights consulting at Octagon, the Interpublic Group’s sports management firm.
Pickleball is on the verge of becoming a national sport. More than 4.8 million people in the US play sports, growing 39.3% over the past two years, according to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association.
Its appeal, says Colbert, comes from the fact that anyone can play. “You really understand that the best pickleball player in the world is twice as good as the worst pickleball player,” he said.
Participants in “Pickled” took the charity competition seriously. “I think Emma Watson is going to shock a lot of people,” Colbert joked. “Dierks Bentley will have a few tricks up his sleeve.”
Combining comedy and sports is also attractive to Funny or Die, which competes with Netflix and TikTok for eyeballs. “The thing about sports is that if you do it well, people want to stay and see who wins,” said Joe Farrell, chief creative officer of Funny or Die. “Pickled” can lend money to people who like to produce laughs. Comedy fans can find it everywhere, whether it’s on Netflix or soundbites on TikTok, which makes the task of producing effective comedy even more difficult, suggests Farrell. One solution: Make jokes part of the game.
Even Colbert learned a few lessons from “Pickled.” When he broadcasts CBS’ “The Late Show,” he knows exactly where the program should go. But with sports, no one can predict where the action will take the crowd. “It’s extraordinarily complex and challenging,” he says. “A lot of things, a lot of cameras.”
Maybe it’s all worth it. Both Colbert and Farrell said they are open to doing more events like this, tying tournaments to holidays or special occasions. As long as the sports program is in such demand, the two may have to keep swinging.
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