Pokerwires Done.

[psujohn 0]

I'm not happy about the exclusives either but people need to put a little bit of rational thought into their responses. Namely:- the WPT is not a money machine. It's actually pretty near bankruptcy and not necessarily something that will be around in a few years if they can't start generating some more $$$$- the goal of companies like CardPlayer, Bluff, etc is not (and should not be) to promote the game but rather their goal is to make $$$. If they decide that they best way for them to make money is through promoting the game that's great but they're profit seeking companies not charities.Poker is rather different from other sports in a number of ways:- players pay to play- there's little to no live TV/radio coverage- events have way more participants than most other sporting eventsStill notice that every other sport has exclusive coverage. You're not going to have the chance to watch the Superbowl on Fox, ESPN or NBC depending on whose coverage you like best. Events like the US Open (golf) are going to have a lot of no names (specially the first two days) whose friends/families would love to be able to follow them and yet they're not going to be covered by the TV station that has exclusive rights.Honestly while I wish that open coverage of WSOP and WPT events could continue it's probably far better for the "future of poker" that WSOP and WPT continue to exist. And if exclusive coverage deals help them remain viable I think it's a small price to pay.

[dlingdling 0]

Still notice that every other sport has exclusive coverage. You're not going to have the chance to watch the Superbowl on Fox, ESPN or NBC depending on whose coverage you like best. Events like the US Open (golf) are going to have a lot of no names (specially the first two days) whose friends/families would love to be able to follow them and yet they're not going to be covered by the TV station that has exclusive rights.

These sports events sell off the broadcast rights, but other media are credentialed to report on the event. How many hundreds of media reps are in the stadium covering the Super Bowl? The local PGA event where I grew up had local media covering it same day. Information blackouts are bad and lead to poor service or abuses in almost every area of life: sports, business, government. The WPT and WSOP deals are short-sighted. A healthy flow of information strengthens poker's fan base; media blackouts just make people lose interest.

[Chicago99 0]

I'm not happy about the exclusives either but people need to put a little bit of rational thought into their responses. Namely:- the WPT is not a money machine. It's actually pretty near bankruptcy and not necessarily something that will be around in a few years if they can't start generating some more $$$$- the goal of companies like CardPlayer, Bluff, etc is not (and should not be) to promote the game but rather their goal is to make $$$. If they decide that they best way for them to make money is through promoting the game that's great but they're profit seeking companies not charities.Poker is rather different from other sports in a number of ways:- players pay to play- there's little to no live TV/radio coverage- events have way more participants than most other sporting eventsStill notice that every other sport has exclusive coverage. You're not going to have the chance to watch the Superbowl on Fox, ESPN or NBC depending on whose coverage you like best. Events like the US Open (golf) are going to have a lot of no names (specially the first two days) whose friends/families would love to be able to follow them and yet they're not going to be covered by the TV station that has exclusive rights.Honestly while I wish that open coverage of WSOP and WPT events could continue it's probably far better for the "future of poker" that WSOP and WPT continue to exist. And if exclusive coverage deals help them remain viable I think it's a small price to pay.

Agreed. I think it sucks too, but I think the number of people who are going to be turned off from poker because the coverage isn't as good/isn't on the site they want is extremely small.In the end, this isn't going to make a meaningful financial difference to 99.999% of poker players.

[DB10-2 0]

i know a lot of the pokerwire peeps myself, including stapleton. i don't have any insider info about what will happen to the show, but i too really hope it stays alive. as for this new trend in selling exclusive coverage rights, DN is right, it's bad for everybody except the WSOP/WPT and CP/Bluff. i personally thought pokerwire's staff was the best of them all, and hope everyone who works/worked there finds something else poker-related if that's what they want. overall, it seems like the "wild west" days of the poker boom are ending and it's becoming corporatized. it will be interesting to see if various people's predictions that overall the tournament circuit cannot sustain itself financially will come true...