New broadcast episodes of the World Series of Poker begin this week on ESPN and ESPN2. They’re trying something new this year. For the Main Event, the tournament that decides this year’s top winner, they’ve played the tournament up to the final table, but that last part of the game will be broadcast live in November, no doubt for a hoped ratings boost. I feel sorry for the players, but it will make it more fun to watch. Meanwhile, every week between now and then I can enjoy an hour or two of broadcasts, beginning with satellite tournaments from all over the place, and then finally moving to the many tournaments played in Las Vegas at the main venue, and culminating in the Main Event, which last year they got 12 hours of broadcast time out of, I think. If you’re not into poker, give a look once and see what you think. I enjoy watching the broadcasts almost as much as I enjoy playing myself. If you are a poker fan, you probably already know these are the best games on TV.
Todd's Blog
Todd Klein on lettering, literature and more
Small correction; the final’s not quite live. As I understand it, on day November X (I forget the exact date), they’ll play the final table 9 down to the final 2. On X+1, they’ll decide the winner. Meanwhile, the final table coverage will start airing on X+1 and finish on X+2. ESPN pretty much has to do it this way since there’s no telling how long even the final two will go; 1 hand or 4 hours are both possibilities, and either one results in a broadcast problem both in terms of scheduling uncertainty and possible audience boredom at multiple consecutive pre-flop folds. So they need time to edit the raw material both to fit the scheduled time and to leave out as much boring stuff as possible.