High Stakes Poker, which once spent four seasons as the top-rated show on GSN, has yet to put in an order for more episodes. Although President and CEO of Poker PROductions Mori Eskandani confirmed that GSN has not yet contacted his production company for new shows, he wouldn't rule out that GSN would never buy more High Stakes Poker episodes again.
According to Eskandani, that could happen as soon as tomorrrow or a decade from now. If GSN wants new shows, he said they will produce them. He reiterated that just because GSN has yet to place a call to Poker PROductions for new episodes in the last few months, it doesn't mean that they never will.
The show is currently the lead-in for the World Poker Tour, which is aired on Monday nights. Eskandani said GSN owns upwards of 50 episodes of High Stakes Poker and can broadcast the show for at long as they want. Filming of High Stakes Poker usually takes place in the late spring, but did not take place this year.
Eskandani says GSN is moving away from the casino and card-related programming that once occupied most of the evening time slots starting in 2004 (Poker Royale, World Series of Blackjack, and Celebrity Blackjack were a few of the shows). None of them can be found there now.
“It is possible that they’re trying to figure out how poker could exist within their programming,” Eskandani said.
Poker fans will soon find out if poker fits into GSN’s future plans at all. Last year, GSN bought the rights of one WPT season (the sixth one filmed), and the broadcasting agreement expires May 24. GSN has the right of first refusal to extend the contract. There’s no word on whether GSN will do this, and GSN did not return a phone call seeking comment.
High Stakes Poker and the WPT lost a huge ally at GSN after company president Rich Cronin left only a few months after he helped land the WPT deal.
High Stakes Poker premiered January 2006 and featured some of the most popular poker professionals — as well as a mix of ultra-rich amateurs — as they played cash poker with hundreds of thousands of their own dollars.
Viewers saw these players rake in several pots between $575,000 and $1 million, and viewers also learned what a straddle is.
Poker PROductions currently produces two poker shows: Poker After Dark, which appears late nights on NBC, will run through 2009 (new episodes are being filmed in October and April), and the NBC Heads-Up Poker Championship, which is also filmed in April.
Eskandani said he's in negotiations with other networks pitching his other ideas for poker shows, but wouldn't go into detail as to what thay are or where they might appear.
POSTED ON: May 15, 2008
The Poker Network is an idea whose time has come. Poker is spreading like wildfire around the world, and major poker tournaments now take place every month. At least in America, more people play or follow poker twelve months a year than basketball, hockey, golf, tennis, auto racing, bowling, mixed martial arts, and soccer. Almost all of these have their own network(s) on DirecTV. ESPN reruns every older thing they have in the WSOP or USPC vein; tonight's offerings are the '94 & '95 World Series [Russ Hamilton's weight in silver; Action Dan's win], 4-6 am ET on ESPN Classic. A poker channel could cover $5,000-&-above events that get very little treatment outside of CardPlayer, a win-win-win-win scenario for the casinos, CardPlayer and other publications (including players' books), the players (wherever they reside on poker's totem pole), and the fans/proto-players. This would provide a tremendous stimulus to the industry, far greater than the 17-week Main Event stall-ola Harrah's, et al., are jamming down our throats this year. Fans could be treated to the EPT, the Asian tour, the USPC (no longer covered by ESPN), and other new tours or events as they spring up, including what goes on at the Bellagio, for example, during the World Series. Instead of all no limit holdem all the time, we could enjoy other variants of holdem, omaha, stud, badugi, Chinese poker, crazy pineapple, and mixed games with more instruction, more interviews, more fan involvement, and more growth, development, and fun for our game. Poker's further popularization through a network will beget more financial opportunities for the well-known pros and serve to insulate it against further attempts to legislate it out of existence or into oblivion or a marginalized niche. More fans = more stars = more money = more security for a great pastime.
POSTED ON: May 15, 2008
yeah, the channel can possibly be like the Golf Channel. The problem is that they would have to find some way to acquire rights of past big programs like WPT shows for past seasons, Poker Superstars, Poker After Dark, etc.
POSTED ON: May 15, 2008
I also agree that a dedicated poker network would be awesome. GSN should realize they have a good thing going. Everything else on thier network IMO is garbage.
POSTED ON: May 15, 2008
Maybe PokerPROductions should start their own channel? I will accept only a small royalty for coming up with this idea.
POSTED ON: May 15, 2008
i was going to right a few more things..high stakes was great poker show the best in my opinion and only show in a cash game format at ultra hig stakes which was very entertaining.i agree with sevenkids a poker network would be great i for sure would subscribe as millions others im sure! seven lets pitch this idea to some high ups we could make a mint lol
POSTED ON: May 14, 2008
It's time for the casinos, the websites, the magazines, the high stakes players, and the poker-loving Bill Gateses of this world to launch The Poker Network.