Fox Sports Net Extends World Poker Tour Television Broadcast License
As Season VII Hits Airwaves, Network Secures Rights for Season VIII
LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–WPT Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WPTE – News) 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.
Business Wire – http://www.msn.foxsports.com .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.
