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the new cool sport
No kidding. It's got glam--and young male viewers
By Carly Jacobs
Last year, 55.5 million Americans slid into hygienically sprayed two-tone shoes to make bowling the nation's No. 1 indoor recreational activity.
Normally that would be big news for a sport, worthy of commentary in esteemed publications around the country. It has not been, and we all understand why.
For all its growing popularity, bowling has never been, well, cool.
Television certainly has not helped. Who could become excited about short-haired white men in look-alike polyester shirts and slacks grimacing in silence as announcers whispered their scores?
How dull.
But that is fast changing. Bowling is fast becoming the new hip sport, in no small part because of the work of ESPN to give it some glamour.
It is certainly working with viewers.
Over halfway into the Professional Bowlers Association's 3-year contract with ESPN, bowling is pulling incredibly strong audiences. With an average 0.84 rating, viewership was up 18 percent in the 2001-2002 season, making last year the network's highest-rated and most-viewed bowl season ever. The women's U.S. Open rated at 0.67 and the three college bowl games came in at a whopping 1.54.
As for who's watching, that too has taken a turn. Bowling's demographic is now dominated by the fidgety male 18-49 range, thanks in large part to the 5,000 30-second promos ESPN has aired across its four networks. But there's also the PBA, which has instituted quite a few changes and shelled out a good deal of money to make bowling more appealing to younger viewers.
"You have to entertain, you have to create heroes and get people inspired. We had to figure out the code for excitement in a game that has no contact," says Steve Miller, President and CEO of the PBA.
The solution? A custom-built traveling stadium with "down the lane" seating, increased camera presence and prize money, better time slots, and a viewer-friendly competition format that's no longer man-against-pin but man-against-man. Bowlers, who before this season were told to dress and act a certain way, have been given permission to "let it out." Instead of the staid, emotionless men of the past, today's bowlers can have long hair, wear leather pants rather than polyester, trash talk, scream in agony, and gloat when victorious. The telecast is, dare we say it, exciting.
And don't forget about sex appeal. Take for instance, the PBA's crotch-grabbing "bad boy," Pete Weber, who bowled a 299 (out of a possible 300) in one game last year. With his lewd celebratory gestures and pumped physique, he has some fans reaching for another sip of beer.
The women are also trading on their looks. PWBA bowler, Kim Adler, is raising more than eyebrows in her tiny skirts and form-fitting shirts.
"ESPN has been pretty public that they've been taken aback--as we were--by the ratings. They were not prepared for bowling moving to the head of the class," says Miller.
In addition to the PBA's massive investment in updating its image (the league's new owners are former Microsoft gurus), bowling's recent cool factor in popular culture also contributes to its TV success.
You see it in the chic of Italian-designed bowling-style shoes and bags, in the bowling alley backdrops of commercials and popular television shows like "Let's Bowl" and "Ed." Bowling alleys nationwide have spruced up the timeworn sport by adding loud music, disco balls, and sparkling lights to create something called "extreme bowling."
All of this, together with an aggressive cross-promotional marketing campaign by ESPN, consistent primetime hours, and a host of professional bowlers eager to express themselves on the air, is finally helping one of America's favorite pastimes to come into its own as a spectator sport.
July 2, 2002© 2002 Media Life
- Carly Jacobs is a New York writer.
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