Bowling/PBA doesn't have the pull to dictate to a network when they want to be on tv. They are lucky to have a spot at all. This topic was covered in detail by the Former CEO of the PBA 2 years ago during a seminar at Bowl Expo in Orlando FL. They are very aware they are in a bad slot competing against the NFL but it's better than not having any coverage.
As far as marketing, there is no way any big company is going to spend a significant budget on bowling if there aren't enough hard numbers/ratings showing bowling has a large viewing audience. One way to increase viewers is to try new gimmicks.
Where are the proven numbers? I have yet to see any published documentation showing bowling has more viewers than any other sport outside of baseball or football. That is like the USBC saying over 7 million people bowled last year. How many of those 7 million were repeat bowlers. Anyone can take a set of numbers and manipulate them to suit their needs. The networks and political parties do this on a daily basis. Here is an example, 7 million people bowled last year. That may be a true statement but not the whole truth. Of those 7 million, 1 million accounted for 90% of all games bowled. The other 6 million were people who stopped by for a birthday party or open bowling and spent more money than it would have cost to see a movie or eat a nice dinner and will never come back/bowl again. Hey sounds great we had 7 Million bowlers last year.......actually only 1 million in 2005 down from 2 million in 2004 but we don't want you to know that so we conveniently leave that out.
