Did the ESPN/WSOP November experiment work?

[2Tone]

So I’m going to with “No.”

Back when this was announced, they said this would be about exposure and building suspense.

“Our intent is to provide an even bigger stage for our players,” said Jeffrey Pollack, Commissioner of the World Series of Poker. “Now fans and viewers will ask ‘who will win’ our coveted championship bracelet instead of ‘who won.’ The excitement and interest surrounding our final nine players will be unprecedented.”

Well, I didn’t see much exposure for any of the “November 9” anywhere but on ESPN’s poker show and in the (now diminished) poker media. So I’m not sure that it increased the exposure of the players much if at all. Just judging by us, it's not like this place, or even 2+2, was overrun with "Who is your favorite November 9 star!" threads.

And here it is the day of the final two players going HU for the title, with who they are having been widely reported in sports pages across the country. But ESPN hasn’t shown the first part of the final table yet. So if we all know who won before it airs, doesn’t that make this whole thing pointless?

I guess the ratings of tomorrow's broadcast will tell for sure. Which BTW -- if you aren't airing it live, why not air in prime time for the West Coast?

Schedule for next year should be out in a month of so. It will be interesting to see if they keep the final table delay, or go back to the standard tournament schedule.

[de-coder]

WSOP final was yesterday? Who knew...

[melioris]

they are trying to get a larger market share, which is admirable. But this attempt failed, IMO. ESPN should realize that the viewership of poker tournaments on TV depends on Joe 6-pack being able to log onto his computer and donk off his paycheck. If the dream is not alive, then the audience isn't there.

[Invigilator]

I didn't see it and forgot it was on. For the delay, a very shitty job was done promoting anything that would have built viewership and interest.

In fact I'll go out on a limb and predict that when I do see it, it will be less interesting than the year Hachem won. (and for that I'll only consider the play AFTER Matusow was out (since he is a big name and automatically makes it more interesting))

[schlomosmack]

I WOULD have to say YES!!! It was like a rock concert or a football game with all of the people in that auditorium. The energy was electric and the build up was great. True not as great as if there was a pro besides Rheem at the final table but still great. I loved the hour long pore fight hype that ESPN and it was amazing to watch eastgate kill em all for the title. I thought it was great !!

[schlomosmack]

PLUS every player at that final table ended up making more money by it being delayed. They all got sponsorship deals and were paid for interviews for radio and tv. A few did commercial spots so all in all I would say it definently worked out for the players and if phil ivey, daniel negraneu or another big pro were to make it next year it would certainly lead to great hype and ultimately, a greater arena for the wsop and all of poker.....