Grow the game with pickleball streaming

Pickleball is growing in popularity, with courts popping up in public spaces and hosted by private gyms – but there’s still plenty of room for the sport to grow. If you’re a pickleball court or group trying to win new members, build more awareness about the sport, or just want to get people active and moving, then pickleball streaming can help! 

A sport worth watching

Combining elements of tennis, badminton and ping pong, pickleball is a game that appeals to people of all ages and skill levels. And it’s not just fun to play. Competitive pickleball is dynamic, exciting, and highly strategic. Professional matches are full of highs and lows, ranging from fast-paced action to tense long rallies, making them perfect to watch.

But it’s not just the pros who deserve the spotlight. Live streaming can also be a great avenue to encourage amateur and youth matches, demonstrating that it really is a sport for anyone!

Why start pickleball streaming 

Here are just some of the ways pickleball live streaming can benefit you:

• Reach more people on a budget. Most streaming platforms are free — and can even be monetized if enough people tune in! 
• Attract more new members with a showcase of what the sport has to offer, from beginners to the very top athletes looking for a challenge.
• Offer more value to sponsors by displaying their logos and ads throughout the live stream.
• Learn more about who’s watching on streaming platforms, which often provide a breakdown of audience demographics, and other useful information, like spikes or drops in viewership.
• Create reusable content and turn recorded live streams into shorter video clips for your other social media accounts. 
• Sell your official merch and let friends, family and fans support you by advertising merch during the live stream.

How to start pickleball live streaming

If you’re ready to start streaming your first pickleball game, here’s a brief overview of what you need to do.

1. Set up your camera. Focus on finding a corner where all four corners of the pitch are visible, and try to avoid pointing your camera directly in the sun.
2. Set up mics for one or two commentators. (This will be especially helpful for viewers unfamiliar with the rules and scoring system of pickleball.)
3. Make sure you have a good internet connection. Streaming takes a lot of bandwidth! 
4. Choose where you’re going to stream, for example, on Facebook Live, YouTube Live, Twitch, or your own website. 
5. Familiarize yourself with a streaming software, so you can create scenes with different streaming layouts that are ready to use on match day. Streaming software also allows you to multistream to different platforms at once. 
6. Promote your live stream beforehand. Let people know how and where to tune in and support their favorite players! 
7. Remember to have a dry run before the official streaming date to check for any issues.

Tips to take your pickleball streaming to the next level

• Before the match begins, take some time to explain the rules of the game, the background of the teams and players joining, and give viewers the context they need to get invested in the game. 
• If you have the budget, add more cameras to capture the crowd, the net, and close-up shots of competitors to bring viewers even closer to the action.
• Add a microphone to capture ambient noise from the fans watching and the court itself. 
• Run interviews after the game with athletes, coaches, and fans.

Add overlays for better storytelling during your pickleball live stream

1. Start by adding a digital pickleball scoreboard overlay, like this simple variation of our Standard Pickleball Scorebug.
2. Build excitement for the next match with a countdown overlay. 
3. Introduce celebrity players with a fullscreen player bio.
4. Announce upcoming games with a lower third overlay (for example, our Olympic-themed Lower Third).
5. Thank your sponsors with a sponsor bug.
6. Add your social media handles with our Sociable Loop Bug 1 so people can get in touch and learn more about your pickleball family!

Looking for a pickleball scoreboard online? Look no further! 

Overlays.uno has a wide range of free overlays that are perfect for your next live stream (including two designs for a scoreboard for pickleball), which can be edited and controlled through our online interface – no ZIP files or app downloads required! And, if you’re struggling to figure out overlay layouts for pickleball streaming, you can find helpful tips and advice from our official Discord community.