The 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event kicked off on cable station ESPN on Tuesday night. Late Wednesday, ratings released for the two-hour program were even with 2008 figures.
The signing of former Green Bay Packers and New York Jets quarterback Brett Favre by the Minnesota Vikings on Tuesday afternoon delayed the start of the WSOP Main Event on ESPN by 20 minutes. The two-year, $25 million contract followed Favre’s adamant statements that he would remain retired and was one of the biggest sports stories of 2009. It continues to carry the day on television and radio broadcasts around the world. ESPN airs Monday Night Football during the NFL season and had reporters on site covering the Favre drama. Consequently, poker took a back seat to football despite Tuesday night marking the premiere of the 2009 WSOP Main Event.
ESPN’s George McNeilly told Poker News Daily that the first hour of Main Event coverage, which followed the action on Day 1A, received a 0.8 rating. Last year, the opening hour of the Main Event also posted a 0.8 rating. The second hour of poker recapped play on Day 1B of the $10,000 buy-in feature tournament and scored a 0.9 rating, down slightly from 1.0 in 2008, or 10%. All told, aggregate ratings for the first two hours of programming were roughly even year over year. Last year, ESPN’s coverage of the Main Event did not begin airing until September 2nd.
After the first two weeks of ESPN WSOP programming, which featured the $40,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament commemorating the 40th running of the WSOP and the Champions Invitational, ratings slid by 8% year over year. In addition, the total number of household impressions after two weeks was 714,000 in 2009, down from 750,000 in 2008.
In the kickoff episode featuring the $40,000 commemorative tournament, figures obtained by Poker News Daily revealed that the number of male viewers age 18 to 34 was up 2%. Among men age 25 to 54, the number of viewers was up a commanding 16%. All told, the number of male viewers age 18 to 49 tuned into the opening episode on July 28th was even with 2008’s tally.
This week, ESPN and WSOP officials forged an agreement for the popular sports and entertainment network to carry poker’s most prestigious tournament series for at least seven more years. In a press release distributed by Harrah’s, which owns the rights to the WSOP, it was revealed that 82 million people tune into the WSOP every year. A minimum of 32 hours of coverage will emanate from the WSOP every year, the same length of programming seen by viewers in 2009.
ESPN has carried the WSOP since 2003. Next year marked the final year of its current agreement, leading to this week’s extension. In 2009, Jack Link’s Beef Jerky signed on as a presenting sponsor of the WSOP on ESPN and receives extensive promotion and on-air mention throughout the show. Most notably, a Jack Link’s Beef Jerky Wild Card Hand masks the hole cards of one player at the table so viewers at home can play along. ESPN announcers Norman Chad and Lon McEachern are not told the hands held either, making for a lively segment.
Here is the remaining ESPN WSOP schedule for its Tuesday night broadcasts:
August 25th to September 22nd: 8:00pm to 10:00pm ET
WSOP Main Event, Episodes 7-18
September 29th: 8:00pm to 11:00pm ET
WSOP Main Event, Episodes 19-21
October 6th to October 13th: 9:00pm to 11:00pm ET
WSOP Main Event, Episodes 22-25
October 20th: 10:00pm to 11:00pm ET
WSOP Main Event, Episode 26
October 27th to November 3rd: 9:00pm to 11:00pm ET
WSOP Main Event, Episodes 27-30
November 10th: 9:00pm to 11:30pm ET
WSOP Main Event Final Table
