The Professional Bowlers Association has announced the launch of the PBA Network, a multi-platform media umbrella built for fans and highlighted by televised and digital event coverage of the best players in the world competing for the most coveted titles in the sport.

Through the PBA Network, fans will have unprecedented access to the PBA including wall-to-wall coverage of an expanded schedule of live events, player interaction, mobile gaming, original programming, archived events and immediate news updates anytime, on varying communications devices anywhere in the world.

PBA.com, the official website of the PBA, will be the home base for the PBA Network (http://www.pba.com/PBANetwork/), linking to all of its media touch points at pba.com/PBANetwork. Xtra Frame, the PBA’s streaming video service, is the lynchpin of the PBA Network with a yearly subscription fee of $64.99 ($5.41 a month) or monthly subscription rate of $7.99, available at xtraframe.tv/pba/.

“The PBA has provided the most memorable moments and defined icons in bowling since its inception in 1958. Along the way it has been part of the fabric of the sports world as a staple on national television for more than 50 consecutive years, including every year of broadcast partner ESPN’s history since 1979,” PBA Commissioner Tom Clark said. “The PBA has also been a trailblazer and leader in digital online coverage of sporting events since 2001, first on our Strike Pass, now Xtra Frame platform.

“The PBA Network celebrates the diversity of media outlets, competition and programming we have developed to make it better than ever for bowling fans to play games and get the best bowling action, news and information they want, whenever they want it, using whatever communications tools available to them.”

The PBA Network is also a cohesive vehicle for the PBA’s sponsors and partners to reach its great fan base across the PBA’s expanding media universe, including:

● Network television (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Classic, CBS Sports Network). In 2015, PBA’s network telecasts will include more than 47 hours of original programming and will reach a total audience of more than 50 million viewers.

● Live streaming video (Xtra Frame). PBA produces hundreds of hours of live coverage of PBA Tour, PBA50 and PBA Regional events, plus original programming and archived ESPN shows, qualifying rounds and match play from hundreds of events serving a dedicated audience of more than 5,500 paid subscribers on a daily basis. Captivated subscribers spend an average of 60 minutes per viewing.

● Web site (PBA.com). Featuring live scoring of major events, statistical updates, calendar information, video, player bios, scoring records, historical data and links to player web sites and social media. In the past 12 months, more than 2.5 million unique users from over 100 countries visited pba.com, recording just over 19 million page views.

● Online video (PBA YouTube Channel). PBA’s video content on its dedicated YouTube Channel has recorded more than nine million views.

● PBA In-box (PBA e-Newsletter, email notices). More than 200,000 PBA fans have signed up to receive the PBA’s electronic fan newsletter to get news and sponsor updates via email.

● Mobile gaming (PBA Bowling Challenge by Concrete Software is on Google Play, Apple iOS, Amazon App Store, Nook). Nearly 11 million mobile device users have been exposed to PBA competition through downloads and more than 115,000 play the PBA game on a daily basis.

● Social media (Professional Bowlers Association Facebook page and associated PBA Regional, PBA50, PBA League and PBA personality Facebook pages; and @PBATour on Twitter). PBA’s most prominent social media outlets include 150,000-plus likes and 27,000-plus followers. PBA Player and PBA League owner communications via social media bring those numbers into millions of followers.

“Access and availability have been critical in developing the PBA Network along with digital partners such as our Xtra Frame host NeuLion and mobile game developer Concrete Software,” Clark said. "Whether your favorite communications device is your smart phone, lap top, tablet or TV, the PBA has created a media outlet that allows you to access news and watch bowling action easily anytime and anywhere.”

The recently-released 2015 PBA calendar of events (http://news.pba.com/post/2014/9/17/29-PBA-Tour-Titles-Will-Be-Decided-During-Expanded-2015-Season.aspx) includes a global tournament schedule that will reward 37 PBA national titles from now until the end of 2015. In 2015, the PBA will conduct more than 180 tournaments in the USA and more in cooperation with a growing number of international partners and World Bowling. The PBA Network includes on-site fan interaction and pro-ams in over 150 cities worldwide for PBA Tour, PBA50 Tour, PBA Regionals for men, seniors and women; World Bowling-PBA International Tour and PBA Japan Regional program events.