The PBA is owned and operated by Lucky Strike Entertainment (NYSE: LUCK). Formerly Bowlero (and Bowlmor AMF before that), the company acquired Lucky Strike in ‘23 before rebranding under that name a year later.  

LUCK maintains a physical footprint of over 360 locations across the U.S. For context, ~70mm Americans will bowl a game this year. ~30mm of them will do so in a Lucky Strike O&O establishment. 

“That’s a very powerful foundation to further incorporate or leverage as part of the PBA Tour’s next phase of growth,” Murray said. “We have the opportunity to regularly engage fans from a marketing point of view and to launch new events and experiences within that ecosystem that are PBA driven.” 

The bet is that the pro league will be able to convert a meaningful number of Lucky Strike visitors into consumers of those experiences/viewers of those events over time. 

While profitable, the PBA Tour currently exists to serve as a marketing vehicle for the sport and Lucky Strike’s brick and mortar locations. It represents just a small fraction of LUCK’s overall revenue. 

Murray has been tasked with expanding the PBA Tour’s contribution to Lucky Strike’s top line.

Media rights, sponsorships, and memberships drive the business today. The PBA is exploring new revenue streams, including site fees, sports betting data licensing, and the launch of a FAST channel. 

Skeptics will argue that turning a near-seven-decade-old property into a culturally relevant sports platform with billion-dollar potential is an uphill battle. They’ll tell you, like boxing or horse racing, bowling is a sport from another era with an aging, working-class fan base. 

But the PBA executive doesn’t see it that way.  

“You really have all of these trends converging around bowling,” Murray said. “You have mass participation, it’s accessible on linear television, it ticks all these boxes that other sports properties are looking for.” 

That includes TV viewership. The PBA Tour has been drawing audiences that many other leagues would envy.  

“Our first time on CBS broadcast we did 672,000 outperforming the NWSL and Major League Pickleball on the network that day,” Murray said. 

And the PBA has a publicly traded company with a $1.1bn market cap behind it enabling Murray and Co. to focus on building without having to worry about constantly raising capital. 

Of course, scaling the PBA Tour fan base won’t be easy. The average American sports fan is not currently paying attention to professional bowling. 

“I’m looking at building a sport from the ground up, even though it has all this history,” Murray said. “The goal is to reimagine the PBA Tour using content for the next generation consumer.” 

Leadership started by adding digital and social capabilities. Those early brand building efforts have started to pay off. 

“We’ve seen over 35% growth on all channels,” Murray said. 

At the same time, the PBA Tour remains laser focused on developing broader cultural relevancy.  

It participated in a five-part HBO docuseries entitled Born to Bowl that was executive produced by Ben Stiller, produced by A24, and narrated by Liev Schreiber, and serves as a flagship storytelling vehicle. 

PBA is now exploring additional entertainment formats capable of expanding reach and deepening fan engagement. Concepts under consideration include a celebrity/influencer bowling league and game-show style programming. 

Murray articulated a clear product strategy centered on elevating the sport’s five majors into tentpole events and streamlining the PBA Tour schedule. Plans also call for a new “signature series,” featuring a more contemporary presentation and made-for-TV formats in the years ahead.

Global expansion is a part of the strategic growth plan too.  

As it stands, the PBA Tour generates virtually no international media rights revenue. That is despite roughly a quarter of its top bowlers hailing from outside the U.S.  

“Australia, parts of Europe, and Japan all have big bowling markets,” Murray said. “As does South Korea, parts of China, and even Latin America.” 

And not just as part of its distribution strategy. There is momentum to bring events overseas. 

“There will be a world cup of bowling or a world tour that'll be led by the PBA,” Murray said.  

But the PBA CEO actually believes the opportunity extends beyond bowling. Remember, Lucky Strike locations offer a host of different experiential activities (think: darts, billiards, ping pong, cornhole). 

While Matchroom Sport has established darts and billiards properties in Europe, Murray is convinced room remains for a second global offering. If right, he just may be on his way to building another billion-dollar sports entity.  

Whether the PBA remains under LUCK’s control or is spun out if that vision materializes remains to be seen.

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