ESPN officials are happy with the production and ratings performance of its unprecedented live coverage of the 2011 World Series of Poker, according to Cardplayer.com.
Earlier this week, the website said the 11 broadcasts of poker’s premier event drew nearly half a million viewers — above what is expected in the late-night timeslot it held on ESPN. Ten of them were on ESPN2 and the final on ESPN. The network’s taped and edited broadcasts began this week and continue every Tuesday until November.
“This was something the sport needed in order to take the next step,” ESPN’s senior director of programming and acquisitions Doug White told CardPlayer. “ We don’t want poker to become stagnant. We want to be very fresh and progressive with our coverage, whether that means updating the featured table sets or increasing the amount of on-air analysis.”
Earlier this week, the website said the 11 broadcasts of poker’s premier event drew nearly half a million viewers — above what is expected in the late-night timeslot it held on ESPN. Ten of them were on ESPN2 and the final on ESPN. The network’s taped and edited broadcasts began this week and continue every Tuesday until November.
“This was something the sport needed in order to take the next step,” ESPN’s senior director of programming and acquisitions Doug White told CardPlayer. “ We don’t want poker to become stagnant. We want to be very fresh and progressive with our coverage, whether that means updating the featured table sets or increasing the amount of on-air analysis.”