Deals signed to grant exclusive media coverage are upsetting the balance for impartial and varied reporting on televised poker tournaments. Both the World Series of Poker and the World Poker Tour have signed these exclusive deals with competing magazines for media coverage. Because of these deals, media outlets such as PokerWire.com are no longer able to post live updates on chip counts.
The World Poker Tour’s exclusivity was a surprise to most of these media outlets and there have been many complaints about this limited access. When a poker website puts together a top-notch team of reporters to cover poker on television events such as the World Poker Tour and the World Series of Poker, it is unfair to block their ability to bring this news to their audience.
The World Series of Poker restrictions seem relaxed when you compare them with the regulations put forward by the press release announcing the World Poker Tour’s new arrangement. The press release stated: “Floor access via escorted PR escort ONLY” in 15-minute increments and that “there will no longer be designated areas for media with tables, chairs, internet access and power.”
What do these business decisions by the organizers of the World Poker Tour and the World Series of Poker mean for PokerWire.com? The loss of live updates and chip counts means that PokerWire.com can no longer support a full staff and radio show. In a statement, PokerWire said: “The PokerWire you know and love will cease to exist. We will include a few hands and the top 10 chip counts at each level, but there will no longer be live updates and chip counts as these are made available by the WPT.”
After three and a half years as a leader in poker tournament reporting, particularly at poker on television events, PokerWire.com closed its doors with a final thank you to its talented poker bloggers, such as Joe Sebok, Andy Bloch, Eric Froehlich and Scott Fischman.
