smudgex68
07-12-2004, 08:58 AM
The trash-talk quoted in the article is actually rather funny
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TV poker show's sponsor departs
Published July 10. 2004 7:30AM
BY JOE FLINT
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Cingular Wireless is folding its hand. Since the premiere last year of Bravo's "Celebrity Poker Showdown," in which actors, musicians and athletes play cards on television for charity, Cingular Wireless has been one of the biggest sponsors of the cable program and also funded the $250,000 prize pool.
But when the tequila started to flow on the set and the talk got a little racy in recent episodes, Cingular backed away from the table. The wireless company said it was yanking its sponsorship of the program, effective with Thursday's show. Although Cingular had no problem with the gambling elements, it was shocked - shocked - to find the kind of drinking and trash-talking that generally go hand in hand with poker.
In a statement, Cingular says it reviewed several episodes of "Celebrity Poker Showdown" and "determined that some of the language used and the depiction of excessive alcohol use are not appropriate in the context of our guidelines."
Cingular's concern over the show stems from a recent episode of "Celebrity Poker Showdown" in which several of the players did tequila shots. By Cingular's count, there were 17 instances of drinking on that particular episode. Cingular Wireless is a joint venture between BellSouth and SBC Communications. Cingular's media buying is handled by OMD, a unit of Omnicom Group.
NBC Universal, the parent of Bravo, says in a statement that while it respects Cingular's view, "Celebrity Poker Showdown" "delivers the fun, energy and excitement of Las Vegas to a broad audience in an entertaining manner that is totally within our own point of view and guidelines." NBC Universal is a unit of General Electric.
Poker on television has become very popular over the past few years. The Travel Channel has gotten its best ratings with its coverage of the World Poker Tour, in which professional players do battle. ESPN's coverage of the World Series of Poker has also been a ratings success.
Celebrity poker soon followed, and both Bravo and Travel Channel have their own versions of star-studded poker tournaments. The mood of those contests is much more lighthearted than in competitive matches among poker pros.
For Bravo, "Celebrity Poker" is one of its highest-rated programs, averaging 870,000 viewers an episode in its second season, according to Nielsen Media Research.
But since the attention is on the players as much as the cards, sometimes the banter is a little out there. For example, in the episode initially shown May 27, football star Jerome Bettis was accused by comedian Wanda Sykes of trying to sneak a peak at her cards. When Mr. Bettis denied this, Ms. Sykes responded, "It was my cards or my breasts, you were looking at something." Mr. Bettis replied: "Both of them are small."
According to TNS Media Intelligence/CMR, a New York ad tracking firm, Cingular spent $64,000 on "Celebrity Poker Showdown" last season and about $37,000 so far this season, apart from the prize money it provided.
Although "Celebrity Poker Showdown" apparently no longer meets Cingular's standards, TNS data reveal that there are lots of programs in which Cingular has bought time that are far more racy than the poker show. For example, TNS says Cingular has advertised in MTV's reality show "The Osbournes," as well as in broadcasts of raunchy movies such as "Bachelor Party" and "American Psycho."
A Cingular spokesman questions TNS's data, saying "The Osbournes" is on the wireless concern's do-not-advertise list. As for the other programs, he acknowledges that it is "physically impossible to monitor every spot on every show."
The executive producer of "Celebrity Poker Showdown" is Joshua Malina, a co-star on NBC's political drama "The West Wing." Mr. Malina couldn't be reached to comment, but his spokesman says Cingular's decision to pull out of the show is "a bit foolish."
He notes that the participants are playing for charity and that while there is some alcohol consumption, "it is a controlled environment and the incorporation of doing a shot of tequila is more for the entertainment value."
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[ QUOTE ]
TV poker show's sponsor departs
Published July 10. 2004 7:30AM
BY JOE FLINT
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Cingular Wireless is folding its hand. Since the premiere last year of Bravo's "Celebrity Poker Showdown," in which actors, musicians and athletes play cards on television for charity, Cingular Wireless has been one of the biggest sponsors of the cable program and also funded the $250,000 prize pool.
But when the tequila started to flow on the set and the talk got a little racy in recent episodes, Cingular backed away from the table. The wireless company said it was yanking its sponsorship of the program, effective with Thursday's show. Although Cingular had no problem with the gambling elements, it was shocked - shocked - to find the kind of drinking and trash-talking that generally go hand in hand with poker.
In a statement, Cingular says it reviewed several episodes of "Celebrity Poker Showdown" and "determined that some of the language used and the depiction of excessive alcohol use are not appropriate in the context of our guidelines."
Cingular's concern over the show stems from a recent episode of "Celebrity Poker Showdown" in which several of the players did tequila shots. By Cingular's count, there were 17 instances of drinking on that particular episode. Cingular Wireless is a joint venture between BellSouth and SBC Communications. Cingular's media buying is handled by OMD, a unit of Omnicom Group.
NBC Universal, the parent of Bravo, says in a statement that while it respects Cingular's view, "Celebrity Poker Showdown" "delivers the fun, energy and excitement of Las Vegas to a broad audience in an entertaining manner that is totally within our own point of view and guidelines." NBC Universal is a unit of General Electric.
Poker on television has become very popular over the past few years. The Travel Channel has gotten its best ratings with its coverage of the World Poker Tour, in which professional players do battle. ESPN's coverage of the World Series of Poker has also been a ratings success.
Celebrity poker soon followed, and both Bravo and Travel Channel have their own versions of star-studded poker tournaments. The mood of those contests is much more lighthearted than in competitive matches among poker pros.
For Bravo, "Celebrity Poker" is one of its highest-rated programs, averaging 870,000 viewers an episode in its second season, according to Nielsen Media Research.
But since the attention is on the players as much as the cards, sometimes the banter is a little out there. For example, in the episode initially shown May 27, football star Jerome Bettis was accused by comedian Wanda Sykes of trying to sneak a peak at her cards. When Mr. Bettis denied this, Ms. Sykes responded, "It was my cards or my breasts, you were looking at something." Mr. Bettis replied: "Both of them are small."
According to TNS Media Intelligence/CMR, a New York ad tracking firm, Cingular spent $64,000 on "Celebrity Poker Showdown" last season and about $37,000 so far this season, apart from the prize money it provided.
Although "Celebrity Poker Showdown" apparently no longer meets Cingular's standards, TNS data reveal that there are lots of programs in which Cingular has bought time that are far more racy than the poker show. For example, TNS says Cingular has advertised in MTV's reality show "The Osbournes," as well as in broadcasts of raunchy movies such as "Bachelor Party" and "American Psycho."
A Cingular spokesman questions TNS's data, saying "The Osbournes" is on the wireless concern's do-not-advertise list. As for the other programs, he acknowledges that it is "physically impossible to monitor every spot on every show."
The executive producer of "Celebrity Poker Showdown" is Joshua Malina, a co-star on NBC's political drama "The West Wing." Mr. Malina couldn't be reached to comment, but his spokesman says Cingular's decision to pull out of the show is "a bit foolish."
He notes that the participants are playing for charity and that while there is some alcohol consumption, "it is a controlled environment and the incorporation of doing a shot of tequila is more for the entertainment value."
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