Both Full Tilt Poker and and PokerStars have launched poker-themed shows on network television in recent months, and it looks like PokerStars might have the edge in this arena.
Both shows — “Face the Ace” and “Million Dollar Challenge” feature amateur players facing pros or celebrities in a chance for a million-dollar payday.
While neither shows has exactly gotten critical acclaim, PokerStars’ “Million Dollar Challenge” debuted last Sunday on Fox, in the afternoon following the network’s NFL football slate. Daniel Negreanu, one of the stars of the show, blogged about the show and said that the show got 4 millioin viewers in 2.1 million households, retaining about 15% of the NFL audience. From his blog:
I am SO very happy with the show. Wow, just amazing numbers in terms of viewers and I really think the show hits a demographic that is mostly totally new to poker and likely doesn’t watch shows like PAD, High Stakes Poker, or even the WSOP. The whole point of creating the show was to introduce people to poker in a format that they are more comfortable with: a game show format.
Negreanu goes on to say that the show is not designed for current poker players — the show is designed for TV, with fast blind structures, and it’s aimed at new players. PokerStars also included a $20K freeroll for people who got the password from the show. The next episode is schedule for this Sunday at 4:30 p.m. Eastern (check your local listings). More details on the show here.
Negreanu’s “critique” of the show and who it’s targeting could also apply to “Face the Ace,” Full Tilt’s show. It debuted in August in a much more high-profile primetime slot on NBC, and did a disapponting .3 rating for under 1.5 million viewers. The next scheduled airing of “Face the Ace” is Oct. 31st.
One thing is clear, for both shows — Doyle Brunson doesn’t approve of either. From his blog:
No disrespect intended, but these poker shows are awful. Full Tilt’s “Face the Ace” and Poker Stars “Million Dollar Challenge” are so bad, it’s embarrassing. There is no skill involved in either show and I can’t imagine getting an audience that will watch the shows.
One thing Doyle can’t argue with? Phil Ivey is a beast. Learn how to qualify to win a piece of his WSOP main event action here.<strong>
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