The Poker Channel
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| The Poker Channel | |
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| Launched | March 23, 2005 |
| Website | www.pokerchanneleurope.com |
The Poker Channel is the world’s first television channel dedicated purely to the game of poker. Launched initially in the UK on 23rd March 2005. The Poker Channel provides coverage of both pre-recorded and live action of major poker tournaments from across the globe as well as coverage of major online tournaments where online poker players compete against each another in front of a TV audience of millions. Not content with merely showing poker action, The Poker Channel also commissions series that explore the grass roots of poker and gets under the skin of both the game and it’s players by showing the viewers the various angles of the game, both from a human perspective and from observing and learning the skills of the game.
The Channel now broadcasts throughout Scandinavia, France and Germany, but is available to all viewers throughout the whole of Europe. In Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland the channel is available on channel 95, on the regions’ largest digital satellite network Canal Digital. In France the channel appears on Noos Numericable (channels 48 and 95 respectively) and ADSL platform Free (channel 65). In Germany the channel is carried on Kabel Deutschland and Kabel BW. Pan-European poker fans who do not have access to any of these networks, can still receive the channel with a satellite dish pointed towards 1° West and an appropriate set top box (tuned to 11.229 GHZ Horizontal).
By the end of 2006 the channel housed over 400 hours of poker content, the largest library of poker programming in Europe.
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[edit] History
The Poker Channel was formed in 2005 in recognition of the success of similar channels broadcasting poker in North America. CEO Crispin Nieboer, previously Commercial Manager at British Sky Broadcasting, formed The Poker Channel, recruiting James Hopkins, Sky Sport’s producer of Poker & Rugby Union, who was involved in the success of the first ever live poker program, The Poker Million, in 2000.
The Poker Channel began its broadcast on 23 March 2005. The Channel was initially available in the Entertainment Section of Sky's Electronic Programme Guide (EPG) as channel number 265. The channel was a huge success in the UK, attracting up to 1m viewers a month, from just 8m homes. In April 2006 Sky re-ordered their EPG and put all gaming, call-TV and dating channels in a new section ("Gaming and Dating") dropping The Poker Channel's channel number from 265 to 844. All channels moved down to the "800s" suffered huge drops in viewers. In an attempt to regain its lost viewers, the Poker Channel moved itself back up 400 places on the EPG, into the Sports section, at channel number 444 under the name "All In Sport" in August 2006 . Whilst the channel attracted strong viewing levels again, Sky's EPG listing rules meant the channel could only broadcast 4-6 hours of poker a day, rather than 24.
The Poker Channel decided in December 2006 that due to Sky's policy of putting all gaming channels in the "800s", and the non-existent levels of viewers for channels in the 800s, that they could not properly address a UK audience with a 24hr poker channel on the Sky platform. Instead the channel would focus on the rest of Europe. On 31 Dec 2006 the channel stopped airing on Sky, and on the 1 March the channel launched the first ever pan-European poker channel, in the 6 key poker territories in Europe: Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, France and Germany.
On announcing the launch, Crispin Nieboer said in the press: “We are delighted to be broadening our reach across the whole of Europe, having agreed deals with the leading networks in such fast growing poker territories. The appetite for high-quality poker programming continues to grow across Europe, and with our schedule of top-class tournament and high stakes cash game coverage, plus documentary, educational and classic game coverage, we are proud to offer poker fans the first pan-European poker channel”.
[edit] The British Poker Open
The very first British Poker Open (BPO) was held in London in April 2005. The BPO was an all-new tournament, devised by Crispin and James who wanted to produce a poker tournament that raised the bar on poker interest within the UK, and whose occurrence coincided with the launch of The Poker Channel itself. The tournament would run for close to a month between April & May and would have a prize pool of over £200,000 – and on top of this, the heats and final would be filmed & broadcast live making the BPO the UK’s biggest live televised poker event in history.
What the BPO lured top players over from the US whom had not played in the UK before, such as the current World Poker Champion Greg Raymer, Chris Ferguson, Phil Ivey and Howard Lederer and this in turn brought the BPO further exposure.
The inaugural BPO was eventually won by Adam Dujmovic, a semi-professional from Chicago whom after qualifying for the tournament online, collected a prize just shy of £100,000.
The success of the BPO 2005 inevitably bought along the BPO 2006 a year later. The 2006 version had a pot of £100,000 to be won over 6 heats and a final. Noah Boeken collected around £56,000.
[edit] European Poker Masters
After the BPO, Crispin Nieboer & James Hopkins set their goals higher with the birth of the European Poker Masters (EPM), Europe’s first ever independent poker tour, a production that also cradled a Million Dollar Cash Game; the first ever high stakes cash game to be filmed in the UK. Although no live broadcast was planned, the finished programs were to be distributed to the Sky Sports & Eurosport channels to ensure maximum exposure broadcasting the shows in over 54 countries in 18 languages.
The EPM consisted of four separate events held over four months between Sept ’06 & Dec ’06. Each event was designed to accommodate a great number of participants whom would be whittled down over a couple of days and accumulate in a final table of 8. Once only 8 remained, the players found their way to the final table, where all the action was to be shot in The Poker Channels trade-marked set-up.
[edit] Event 1: London, Fifty Casino
As the inaugural event, the London tour was designed to dazzle & rock the poker circuit. The glamour & exclusivity of the event was compounded as it hosted without doubt the best line-up of players that the UK, if not Europe, had ever witnessed. With over 30 WSPO bracelets between them, the likes of Phil Ivey, Jennifer Harman, Tony G, John Juanda, Gus Hansen & Eric Seidel, to name a few, all sized one another up intent on becoming the first ever winner of an EPM trophy. With such a strong field of players, the extravagant chandeliers & floor-to-ceiling mirrors of London’s most affluent & stylish Casino plus the expertise & innovation of the EPM’s producers, the scene was set for an unforgettable tournament.
After some surprise big-name casualties in the early stages of the event, the field was whittled down to 8 after 12 hours play. The sports’ most feared & respected players Gus Hansen & Phil Ivey both made the final table which witnessed poker of the highest degree with many notable and exceptional hands that made for a fascinating event. The title was finally claimed by Gus Hansen whom fought back from nearly having lost all his chips in one exceptional hand with Marc Goodwin that could have seen Gus knocked out early if it wasn’t for his astounding lay-down that was described as ‘the best play of the year’. Hansen then collected the trophy and the £53,600 prize money to become the first ever EPM winner. Gus: ‘I beat out some really tough players and it feels good. I can’t help but think I won the first WPT and now I’ve won the first European Poker Masters. So it feels good.’[1]
[edit] The Million Dollar Cash Game
With so many famous names under the same roof in such a high-profile event, the evening following the final table of the EPM London saw all the players return to Fifty Casino for a high-stakes cash game. This was officially Europe’s biggest ever game of high-stakes poker with the minimum amount needed to sit down at the table a staggering $100,000. Whilst only 8 spaces on the table, players could walk away at anytime allowing new players to join. Billed as ‘the ultimate battle of the poker elite’ pots regularly $75,000+ with players occasionally gambling $10,000 on the turn of a card, the money involved swinging back and forth around the table was jaw-dropping. Once again Gus Hansen was a big winner as was Phil Ivey and Marc Goodwin but Mike Matusow became the show’s considerable unfortunate losing nearly $200,000 in what can only be described as a ‘bad night’. Overall, “This is a hugely exciting event featuring the biggest names in world poker and guaranteed thrilling viewing. With millions of dollars being staked, this is the first high stakes cash game to be produced and televised in Europe promising something new for poker fans.”[2]
[edit] Event 2: Vienna, Concord Card Casino
The Austrian Classics is one of the most prestigious and well established tournaments on the European Poker circuit that was incorporated into the EPM and set against the picturesque backdrop of beautiful Vienna. Players from all across the globe descended on this stunning capital and the international field included players from America, England, Russia, Hungary and France as well as from the land down under - Australia. The opening day saw some big European casualties including defending champion and well known Austrian poker pro Sigi Stockinger. After a gruelling 14 hours of play the field was whittled down to the final 8. The line up included a Dutchman, a Russian, two Hungarians, two Austrians, an Englishman and a Lithuanian. The eventual winner was Hungarian Richard Toth who collected €101,190 and in his statement seemed happier to be associated with Gus Hansen rather than having become that much richer.
[edit] Event 3: Paris, Aviation Club de France
Sporting a field of 153 entrants at a buy-in of €3,000 the PokerHeaven.com Paris Hold’Em Trophy was hosted at the L’Aviation Club de France on the Champs Elysees, right under the shadow of the Arc de Triomphe. The final table lasted a gruelling 6 hours with local boy Grice Cournut taking a full 5 minutes to decide to call runner-up Benjamin Kang’s pocket 7s, with his own pocket Jacks. The Jacks held up and it was the young trainee pilot from France that became the European Poker Masters Paris Hold’em Champion picking up a check for €136,600 and the coveted EPM Paris Hold’em Trophy.
[edit] Event 4: Dublin, The Sporting Emporium
The fun loving city of Dublin provided the backdrop to the Full Tilt Poker Dublin All-Star Challenge (€3,000 buy in), as top pros from America and Europe contested the 4th and final stop of the inaugural European Poker Masters. Day 1 saw some big casualties with WPT player of the year Gavin Smith lasting just 2 hours, and 5 time WSOP bracelet winner Chris ‘Jesus’ Ferguson leaving not far behind. Irish pop star Brian McFadden lasted just 45 minutes due to a bad beat. Other famous faces knocked out during day one included Allen Cunningham, Mike Matusow, Liam Flood and Erik Seidel. The final table saw Dave Colclough and Adrian Walshe in a heads-up confrontation that lasted 95 hands and almost three hours in what was a battle of wits and stamina. In the end the winning hand was Walshe’s with Jack high! The audience was ecstatic to see a Dubliner win the final European Poker Masters title of the inaugural season, as well as pick up a giant cheque for €85,500.
[edit] Other Programming
As with any specialist television channel, the aim of The Poker Channel is to broadcast content as diverse as possible within the poker remit. The Poker Channel began to build up a library of poker shows that would eventually become Europe’s largest and feature tournaments of all sizes from across the globe, poker-orientated lifestyle shows, instructional shows and documentary shows that would focus on particular players. Online poker also featured heavily by using pioneering techology to provide coverage of multi-table tournaments in the online community. For instance the PokerHeaven.com Online Series of Poker saw in-studio commentators describe the action as online players battled their way into the money as furiously & determined as any player in a regular tournament.
Asides from the BPO & the EPM, 2 other major poker tournaments were initiated, produced & broadcast by, and became exclusive to, The Poker Channel. 2005 saw a high-adrenaline tournament aptly named the World Speed Poker Open which mirrored the BPO in terms of production & stature but with one key differential to existing tournaments - each player was only allowed 15secs in which to make their decision. Also featured was the World Cup of Poker 2005, a unique tournament that saw players from around the world represent their countries in teams of five and compete for a prize pool of US$125,000 over numerous heats of heads-up (one-on-one) poker.
