WSOP TV Rights?
 

Forgive me if this has already been discussed but who does ESPN pay for rights to air the WSOP? What about DVD sales?

I am also assuming that the WPT owns the TV rights for the WPT events and puts them into syndication (DVD sales too)?

Do you think that in the near future the "plus" part of tournamnet buy-ins will be eliminated for major events?

Thanks.

Re: WSOP TV Rights?
 

whoever owns and runs the wsop owns the television rights, and espn pays them and goes in and films it and puts it on tv.

why would the plus part of an entry go away?

Re: WSOP TV Rights?
 

I was kind of thinking that if poker can maintain its growth in popularity for a couple more years and thus have a larger selection of major tournaments with increased revenues through TV rights, DVD sales, advertising revenues, and casino exposure, there could possibly develop a downward pressure on pricing.

This could happen if the marginal revenue of an additional player through these other sources exceeds the "plus" part of the buy-in with the different probabilities of playing versus not playing at the different prices taken into account.

Maybe this is far-fetched though.

Re: WSOP TV Rights?
 

In other sports, typically a portion of the TV money is added to the purse and passed on to the participants. I suppose its possible that this may happen at some point or as you suggested perhaps the money that goes to the casino could be eliminated.

Until now I would guess that the fee's paid for the broadcast rights were likely very minimal. But the interest and ratings are certainly on the way up which means we could be talking some substantial cash at some point if not now. If that is the case, in my opinion, the players should definately get a slice of the pie.

Re: WSOP TV Rights?
 

The rights fee for this year was around $50,000. Next year the TV rights are up for grabs, and will be interesting to see how much Harrah's can get and if it earns major network coverage.

Kevin...

Re: WSOP TV Rights?
 

[ QUOTE ]
The rights fee for this year was around $50,000. Next year the TV rights are up for grabs, and will be interesting to see how much Harrah's can get and if it earns major network coverage.

Kevin...

[/ QUOTE ]

50K??? Wow... cheaper than producing a "game show."

Re: WSOP TV Rights?
 

Remember just 4 years ago, WSOP coverage was at a whopping 2 hours. ESPN, boosted by the start of the WPT, realized it had some great summer programming and added a few hours, and the rest is history.

Kevin...