ESPN Producer Discusses WSOP Main Event Final Table Preparations

Resuming on November 7th will be the final table of the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event. The survivors will play down to two, who will return to the Rio on November 9th to determine a winner. ESPN has 24 hours to edit the finale for airing and on the scene will be Coordinating Producer Jamie Horowitz, who sat down with Poker News Daily to discuss the network’s preparations.

Poker News Daily: Talk about ESPN’s setup on site at the conclusion of the 2009 WSOP Main Event.

Horowitz: There will be about 40 HD cameras used. It’s 28,000 pounds of television equipment to produce the WSOP. There were 26 hours of Main Event coverage on ESPN in 2009, which was our highest number ever. That comes from 15-hour workdays while we’re out there in July and August. We anticipate anything that’s possible in November.

PND: Talk about what the general process is for filming and editing a show. How is the process truncated so that the final table can air 24 hours after it is filmed?

Horowitz: Creatively, this is a massive challenge. The show that you normally see takes weeks to put together. In November, they’re going to play from nine players to two on Saturday and a couple of hours in, we’ll start editing. Sunday is a full-on edit day. On Monday, we play from two down to a champion. The hardest part of putting it together is that so much of the story has to be written before it’s played from two down to one. In that journey from nine to two, you have to tell it like there were two champions.

PND: Is having the heads-up match pan out three days later complicate anything logistically?

Horowitz: It’s a big challenge. We try to look at Saturday as if it’s a live event. Our coverage always deals with great storytelling. It’s all about how we got here and how players were eliminated. We have nine stars and every time someone goes away, it’s a huge story.

The big difference from last year to this year is that last year we had a two-hour window to show the final table. We knew going into heads-up play that a good portion of it would get cut. One thing that we wanted to do this year was feature more heads-up play. This year, we’re not creating an off-air time. Our plan is to show the final table from 9:00pm to 11:00pm ET on Tuesday, November 10th, but we’re prepared to go past 11:00 if the story dictates it.

PND: What lessons learned from the 2008 WSOP Main Event final table can you carry over into 2009?

Horowitz: Because the venue is different, we didn’t realize how interested the viewers would be in seeing the live audience there. A couple of months later, you’d talk to fans and ask what they remembered from the final table. Instead of talking about Peter Eastgate winning, their answers were about Dennis Phillips and all of his fans. They talked about it as if Phillips had won. It was a reminder that it’s an event and you have to show that to people.

PND: Have you been pleased with the final product that has aired on ESPN this year?

Horowitz: This has been a terrific season for us. I like to say that we get better every year, but I am cognizant of the reality that the players who advance are part of it. In 2003, we were, television-wise, blessed to have an unknown accountant with the last name of Moneymaker. This year, it’s the opposite. We have Phil Ivey, considered to be the world’s best player, advancing to the final table.

PND: The ratings have shown increase in key demographics like males age 18 to 49 and males age 25 to 49. Speculate on the reason for it.

Horowitz: We have tried each off-season to respond to what viewers want to see more of and less of. I like to think that listening to our fans and acting on to our fans’ requests lead to more viewers.

Catch the 2009 WSOP Main Event on Tuesdays at 9:00pm ET on ESPN.