WPT Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WPTE) and News Corporation’s Fox Sports
Network (FSN) announced today that they have officially extended the
television broadcast license to include World Poker Tour® (WPT) Season
VIII. The new season begins filming mid-2009 and is the latest WPT
programming scheduled for FSN.
“The World Poker Tour has a loyal and passionate fan base that has made
the WPT one of the most popular programs on FSN,” said FSN Executive
Vice President George Greenberg. “We’re thrilled to be airing Season 8
and look forward to another great year of WPT championship poker.”
WPT, which films its tournaments in premier properties around North
America, will create 26 one-hour episodes from Season VIII events. Under
the broadcast license, FSN receives exclusive rights to air those
episodes in the United States across its national sports cable network.
The timeslot and schedule will be released at a later date.
FSN began airing WPT’s inaugural Season I to high ratings last year,
then followed with exclusive broadcast of all-new WPT Season VII
episodes, which premiere every Sunday night. FSN also airs ClubWPT.com,
a television series based on WPT’s innovative subscription
poker offering, www.ClubWPT.com.
“Fox Sports Net and News Corporation have far exceeded our partnership
expectations and we are thrilled to continue growing our strategic
relationship,” said Steven Lipscomb, WPT Founder, President and CEO.
“Airing our eighth season on the nation’s prime sports network truly
underscores the force behind the WPT brand and poker as a televised
sport.”
WPT programming currently airs alongside other sports programming such
as MLB, NHL and NBA on the FSN network, which serves as the TV home to
nearly two-thirds of all teams based in the United States. FSN's 16
owned-and-operated regional networks and its affiliated networks reach
more than 80 million homes across the U.S. FSN is owned and operated by
News Corporation.
ABOUT FOX SPORTS NETWORK
FSN is the nation's leading provider of local sports. FSN's 16
owned-and-operated regional networks and its affiliated networks reach
more than 80 million homes across the U.S. FSN serves as the TV home to
nearly two-thirds of all MLB, NHL and NBA teams based in the United
States. FSN also produces close to 5,000 live local events each year,
including more than 1,600 in high definition. In addition to its
thousands of home team games and a wide variety of locally produced
sports programs, FSN televises national sports events and programs,
including Pac-10 and ACC basketball and Pac-10 and Big 12 football.
ABOUT WPTE
WPT Enterprises, Inc. is one of the most recognized names in
internationally televised gaming and entertainment with brand presence
in land-based tournaments, television, online and mobile. WPTE has led
innovation in the sport of poker since 2003, when it ignited the global
poker boom with the creation of the World Poker Tour® (WPT) television
show. Based on a series of high stakes poker tournaments, WPT is now
broadcast globally and premiered its all-new seventh season on Fox
Sports Net’s national sports network in the United States in January
2009. WPTE also offers a unique online subscription and
sweepstakes-based poker club, ClubWPT.com, which operates in 38 states
across the U.S. Additionally, WPTE has a multi-media company based in
Beijing specializing in television production, online and mobile games
supporting the WPT China National Traktor Poker Tour™. WPTE has a
10-year exclusive partnership with the China Leisure Sports
Administrative Center to market and build the sport of poker in China.
WPTE also participates in strategic brand license, partnership and
sponsorship opportunities. For more information, see www.worldpokertour.com.
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