Over 500 Media Members Credentialed At World Series Of Poker

More than 500 media outlets “have received credentials to cover” the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, according to Howard Stutz reports of the LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL. Stories on the tournament have appeared in the N.Y. Times, Washington Post and USA Today, among several other major U.S. newspapers (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 7/12).

PAIR OF ACES: In N.Y., Richard Sandomir notes The Travel Channel’s telecasts of the World Poker Tour “are by far the network’s most popular offerings, nearly doubling the ratings of its second-most popular show, ‘John Ratzenberger’s Made in America.’” However, ESPN’s 1.7 Nielsen rating last year for the 22 episodes of the WSOP “was nearly twice that of The Travel Channel’s, and up” 42% from the year before, when it carried only seven installments. ESPN would not disclose what it is paying to carry the WSOP, but its fee “is believed to be modest relative to” the $9.9M the WPT said it received from The Travel Channel for last year’s second season. ESPN Exec VP/Programming & Production Mark Shapiro said the WSOP was a “dying brand before it came to ESPN. We’ve spent considerable effort and dollars to rebuild the brand” (N.Y. TIMES, 7/12). The Travel Channel did not respond to multiple requests for ratings for the third season of the WPT (THE DAILY).