ESPN: Ratings up for World Series of Poker finale

Television ratings for this week's World Series of Poker final table were up about 50 percent from its broadcast last year, in part, because the show aired the same day play finished instead of months later, ESPN and tournament officials said Thursday.

The World Series of Poker said the number of viewers who watched 22-year-old Peter Eastgate win the main event and its $9.15 million prize was higher than the cable network's average for regular season major league baseball and NBA games last season.

ESPN says roughly 1.9 million households tuned in to watch the final table, compared with 1.25 million households in 2007.

The show's ratings were 18 percent higher than in 2003, when Chris Moneymaker won the tournament, World Series of Poker organizers said. Many poker followers point to Moneymaker's win as an amateur in the tournament as the beginning of a boom for the no-limit Texas Hold 'em tournament. Participation in the event grew from then until 2006, but declined in 2007.

Organizers changed the format of the main event this year so the final table could be played closer to its airing on television. Before this year, the main event would finish in July but would not air on television for months.

"What you did was create a must-see television event which ... wasn't the case the past few years when you knew who the winner was," World Series of Poker spokesman Seth Palansky said. "It was that whole 'Who will win?' element."

The World Series of Poker has not explicitly said whether it would delay the final table again next year, but organizers have said television ratings would be one factor in its decision.

World Series of Poker: http://www.wsop.com

News Added: 14 November, 2008

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