In a frustrating world where the broadcasting rights for every sport are seemingly reshuffled every week and media deals govern schools, you may expect some team to one day suddenly depart their current network and jettison themselves to some random channel you’ve never heard of. But, the thing is, you usually dismiss that as a joke. A goof. A humorous over-exaggeration of the world as you see it. You don’t expect that to actually happen, right? Right?
If that’s the case, then you should reevaluate your ability to predict the future. And maybe buy a lottery ticket.
In an article published Thursday by CNBC, it was announced that QVC, yes, the TV shopping channel, will become the exclusive broadcast partner of USA Pickleball. The deal begins in November, when QVC broadcasts the Biofreeze USA Pickleball National Championships on their streaming platform, QVC+.
These broadcasts will blend live sports with QVC’s iconic home shopping programming, in an effort to continue appealing to women over 50. Subsequently, to pair with this surreal development, QVC will become the official retail partner of U.S.A.P.B.
QVC entering sports, despite being the wildest thing to come out of left field since Cal and Stanford’s addition to the ACC, was executed in perhaps the least surprising way possible, given the popularity of both QVC and pickleball with elderly women. QVC VP of brand marketing Annette Dunleavy shares this opinion, who stated in the previously mentioned CNBC article that, “Pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in America and really resonates with that demographic.”
Further details, like who will be presenting these broadcasts, are presently unknown. The HBS newsroom would like to officially endorse Phil Swift of Flex Seal as a candidate. We think that he would execute the presentation of this surreal creation quite flawlessly.
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