Sunday, September 19, 2004
SI.com - Writers - Deitsch: The World Series of Poker is over ... but theaction hasn't stopped - Friday September 17, 2004 5:53PMI hear Norman Chad in my sleep. Am I'm going nuts? Or do I just have visions of The Nuts, which I've learned during the past 2½ months is a poker hand that's unbeatable.
On Tuesday, ESPN aired its final episode from the 2004 World Series of Poker, a series that began July 6 and lasted longer than Roots and The Winds of War combined. The winner of the $5 million first prize was Greg Raymer, a patent attorney from Stonington, Conn., whose passion for collecting fossils earned him the tragically unhip nickname of Fossil Man.
The Fossil Man's victory was ESPN's as well. The World Series of Poker finale was the highest-rated and most-watched poker telecast ever on the network, drawing a 2.8 rating representing more than 2.5 million households. The 22-episode run of the series averaged a 1.7 rating, a 42 percent increase from 2003 when ESPN aired just seven episodes. And how's this for an example of what sports viewers want to watch: On the same night the U.S.-Russia World Cup hockey quarterfinal drew 318,000 households on ESPN2, the World Series of Poker drew 1.5 million households on ESPN.
Now that's nuts.
So where does ESPN go from here? To poker, of course. Beginning Sept. 21, the network will air the World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions, an event ESPN co-created with Harrah's and features 10 of the world's best poker players competing for a $2 million winner-take-all prize. Then comes the Jan. 13 debut of a weekly scripted drama called Tilt, set in Las Vegas against the backdrop of The World Series of Poker. Add The Travel Channel's World Poker Tour, Fox Sports Net's Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament, and Bravo's (The B in Bravo here is for B-level) Celebrity Poker Showdown and poker is getting more action than the dudes from Entourage.
Of course, everyone already knows poker is the new, new thing. So here's the real question: Is televised poker merely a fad ... or will it take a permanent place in the 500-channel universe?
"Poker has had the convergence of a couple of things that has put it where it is now," says ESPN's Michael Antinoro, the executive producer of the World Series of Poker. "First, it's an offshoot of the reality programming that is so popular. It's also the thought that anybody can win, and win in this case $5 million. Another part of it is the Internet. Now, you don't even have to have a friend to play. You can play 24/7 and that's made it even bigger. And not to pat ourself on the back, but I think the programming is compelling. It's well- produced and it's quality television. I think it's going to be here for a while. Of course it's impossible to predict how long, but it's become more than just a popular television show."
Here's why televised poker is going to last. First and foremost, Americans love gambling. It's estimated 60 to 70 million people play poker, and the number is growing yearly. The poker craze is feeding on itself and every other Fossil Man from here to Mesopotamia thinks he can win the World Series.
That leads to the most important reason why poker will stick: When done correctly, televised poker is not merely entertaining, it's instructional. "I believe people really use these shows as tutorials," says Antinoro. "The first time they watch it, they are watching it to see who wins. After that, they go back and study these shows. If not, what they hell are they doing watching it 10 times in a row? They know what's going to happen. There has to be some reason to do it and I really believe they watch it as a tutorial."
So do I -- mostly because I have far too many friends and acquaintances who tell me that's exactly what they are doing. ESPN owns the rights (as part of a multi-year contract with Harrah's) to the WSOP through 2007. This year, the network decided to triple its coverage of the event by dedicating the first 12 episodes to coverage of satellite tournaments that featured other poker disciplines, from seven-card stud to ladies no limit hold 'em to razz. Antinoro says that his production group will sit down next month and figure out how to grow the coverage in 2005. He believes there is room for more episodes.
"We want to be careful not to over do it," Antinoro says. "Our audience loves it and I think the ratings go up each week because you give them just enough and they can't wait for the next episode. If we put too much put there, we may run the risk of oversaturating our market. But poker is still on the rise. I'm sure there will be a point where the popularity kind of starts to level off, but right now we're all riding the wave."
It's a wave that's going to last for some time. Unlike, say, tennis. Pit two emerging Russian tennis stars in a prime-time event and watch the ratings, well, sink like the Lusitania. The U.S. Open final between Svetlana Kuznetsova and fellow Russian Elena Dementieva drew a national rating of 2.2, down 12 percent from the 2.5 rating last year when Justine Henin-Hardenne beat Kim Clijsters, and down 58 percent from the 5.2 rating in 2002 when Serena Williams beat sister Venus.
Once upon a time, when Serena and Venus ruled the sport, the prime-time women's final seemed like a ratings winner. Now it's barely outdrawing, well, the World Series of Poker. It's probably time for CBS to consider eliminating the prime-time slot and have the women's final follow the men's second semifinal.
The Sports Business Daily, a must-read for any media professional and the self-proclaimed (and rightfully so) leading daily trade publication on the business of sports, celebrates its 10th anniversary this week. Bravo.
DON'T MISS
Three programs you'll be talking about next week around the water cooler:
Sept. 18, Hopkins vs. De La Hoya, HBO PPV
For a robust $54.95, we'd expect a side order of foie gras alongside the fisticuffs between middleweight champ Bernard Hopkins (44-2-1, 31 (KOs) and challenger Oscar De La Hoya (37-3, 29 KOs).
Sept. 19, Ryder Cup, NBC, Noon ET
Is there anything better than beating Europe? Well, yeah, the Russians, for starters. But golf's biennial bacchanal between the U.S. and Europe promises to be exciting as the Cup comes to Oakland Hills in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. Of course it wasn't pretty the last time Europe and the U.S. faced off on the links. The Europeans defeated the U.S. in 2002 (15½-12½) at The Belfry in Sutton Coldfield, England and have won three of the last four Ryder Cups.
Sept. 20, Vikings (1-0) at Eagles (1-0), ABC, 9 p.m. ET
The NFL's most talkative and talented wideouts -- Randy Moss and Terrell Owens -- meet at Lincoln Financial Field. The Vikings have not been on MNF since the 2001 season while the Eagles are 5-1 during the past two seasons. ABC promises that Bernie Mac and Angela Bassett, the stars of Mr. 3000, will open the show with a debate over Moss-Owens. Gee, wonder if that's a Disney-owned film.
On Tuesday, ESPN aired its final episode from the 2004 World Series of Poker, a series that began July 6 and lasted longer than Roots and The Winds of War combined. The winner of the $5 million first prize was Greg Raymer, a patent attorney from Stonington, Conn., whose passion for collecting fossils earned him the tragically unhip nickname of Fossil Man.
The Fossil Man's victory was ESPN's as well. The World Series of Poker finale was the highest-rated and most-watched poker telecast ever on the network, drawing a 2.8 rating representing more than 2.5 million households. The 22-episode run of the series averaged a 1.7 rating, a 42 percent increase from 2003 when ESPN aired just seven episodes. And how's this for an example of what sports viewers want to watch: On the same night the U.S.-Russia World Cup hockey quarterfinal drew 318,000 households on ESPN2, the World Series of Poker drew 1.5 million households on ESPN.
Now that's nuts.
So where does ESPN go from here? To poker, of course. Beginning Sept. 21, the network will air the World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions, an event ESPN co-created with Harrah's and features 10 of the world's best poker players competing for a $2 million winner-take-all prize. Then comes the Jan. 13 debut of a weekly scripted drama called Tilt, set in Las Vegas against the backdrop of The World Series of Poker. Add The Travel Channel's World Poker Tour, Fox Sports Net's Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament, and Bravo's (The B in Bravo here is for B-level) Celebrity Poker Showdown and poker is getting more action than the dudes from Entourage.
Of course, everyone already knows poker is the new, new thing. So here's the real question: Is televised poker merely a fad ... or will it take a permanent place in the 500-channel universe?
"Poker has had the convergence of a couple of things that has put it where it is now," says ESPN's Michael Antinoro, the executive producer of the World Series of Poker. "First, it's an offshoot of the reality programming that is so popular. It's also the thought that anybody can win, and win in this case $5 million. Another part of it is the Internet. Now, you don't even have to have a friend to play. You can play 24/7 and that's made it even bigger. And not to pat ourself on the back, but I think the programming is compelling. It's well- produced and it's quality television. I think it's going to be here for a while. Of course it's impossible to predict how long, but it's become more than just a popular television show."
Here's why televised poker is going to last. First and foremost, Americans love gambling. It's estimated 60 to 70 million people play poker, and the number is growing yearly. The poker craze is feeding on itself and every other Fossil Man from here to Mesopotamia thinks he can win the World Series.
That leads to the most important reason why poker will stick: When done correctly, televised poker is not merely entertaining, it's instructional. "I believe people really use these shows as tutorials," says Antinoro. "The first time they watch it, they are watching it to see who wins. After that, they go back and study these shows. If not, what they hell are they doing watching it 10 times in a row? They know what's going to happen. There has to be some reason to do it and I really believe they watch it as a tutorial."
So do I -- mostly because I have far too many friends and acquaintances who tell me that's exactly what they are doing. ESPN owns the rights (as part of a multi-year contract with Harrah's) to the WSOP through 2007. This year, the network decided to triple its coverage of the event by dedicating the first 12 episodes to coverage of satellite tournaments that featured other poker disciplines, from seven-card stud to ladies no limit hold 'em to razz. Antinoro says that his production group will sit down next month and figure out how to grow the coverage in 2005. He believes there is room for more episodes.
"We want to be careful not to over do it," Antinoro says. "Our audience loves it and I think the ratings go up each week because you give them just enough and they can't wait for the next episode. If we put too much put there, we may run the risk of oversaturating our market. But poker is still on the rise. I'm sure there will be a point where the popularity kind of starts to level off, but right now we're all riding the wave."
It's a wave that's going to last for some time. Unlike, say, tennis. Pit two emerging Russian tennis stars in a prime-time event and watch the ratings, well, sink like the Lusitania. The U.S. Open final between Svetlana Kuznetsova and fellow Russian Elena Dementieva drew a national rating of 2.2, down 12 percent from the 2.5 rating last year when Justine Henin-Hardenne beat Kim Clijsters, and down 58 percent from the 5.2 rating in 2002 when Serena Williams beat sister Venus.
Once upon a time, when Serena and Venus ruled the sport, the prime-time women's final seemed like a ratings winner. Now it's barely outdrawing, well, the World Series of Poker. It's probably time for CBS to consider eliminating the prime-time slot and have the women's final follow the men's second semifinal.
The Sports Business Daily, a must-read for any media professional and the self-proclaimed (and rightfully so) leading daily trade publication on the business of sports, celebrates its 10th anniversary this week. Bravo.
DON'T MISS
Three programs you'll be talking about next week around the water cooler:
Sept. 18, Hopkins vs. De La Hoya, HBO PPV
For a robust $54.95, we'd expect a side order of foie gras alongside the fisticuffs between middleweight champ Bernard Hopkins (44-2-1, 31 (KOs) and challenger Oscar De La Hoya (37-3, 29 KOs).
Sept. 19, Ryder Cup, NBC, Noon ET
Is there anything better than beating Europe? Well, yeah, the Russians, for starters. But golf's biennial bacchanal between the U.S. and Europe promises to be exciting as the Cup comes to Oakland Hills in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. Of course it wasn't pretty the last time Europe and the U.S. faced off on the links. The Europeans defeated the U.S. in 2002 (15½-12½) at The Belfry in Sutton Coldfield, England and have won three of the last four Ryder Cups.
Sept. 20, Vikings (1-0) at Eagles (1-0), ABC, 9 p.m. ET
The NFL's most talkative and talented wideouts -- Randy Moss and Terrell Owens -- meet at Lincoln Financial Field. The Vikings have not been on MNF since the 2001 season while the Eagles are 5-1 during the past two seasons. ABC promises that Bernie Mac and Angela Bassett, the stars of Mr. 3000, will open the show with a debate over Moss-Owens. Gee, wonder if that's a Disney-owned film.
