NY Post claims: Poker has Jumped the Shark

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PEPSI'S POKER AD DOOMS FAD link from new story

March 19, 2006 -- It's official: Poker has jumped the shark.
The once white-hot gambling fad sailed right past ubiquity into sellout-infested waters with a Diet Pepsi commercial currently in rotation featuring professional players Daniel Negreanu, Scott Nguyen and Phil Hellmuth losing to a sweating cola can.

"Poker was a real underground trend, but now it has become so commercialized that the game's lost the gritty flavor that made it attractive," said Ryan Berger, Euro RSCG's creative director of buzz.

Not unlike the major record labels' bum rush to sign alternative bands after Nirvana blew up, or department stores glomming onto the latest downtown fashion trends, once underground movements gain mass acceptance, it typically signifies the beginning of the end.

"Poker is incredibly popular, and we're always looking to keep our brands right in the middle of what's hot in pop culture," said a Diet Pepsi spokesperson in a statement.

But in terms of television ratings, poker's downward spiral has already begun.

The audience for Bravo's "Celebrity Poker Showdown" has fallen to an average of 134,000 viewers this year from a high of 364,000 viewers in 2003, according to Nielsen Media Research.



ESPN's "Poker" has lost 193,000 viewers in the two years it been on the air. And the Travel Channel's marquee "World Series of Poker" has seen its average audience drop to 464,000 this year from a peak of 583,000 in 2004.

"When too many people jump on the bandwagon, it reduces the value of the programming and diminishes the game's buzz," said Marc Ganis, president of SportsCorp Ltd. "Poker does have some life left in it, but at some point it is going to have to be recast in a new light so it doesn't become old news."

And though the growth of online gaming has proven to be a lucrative new way to resuscitate poker, it also represents a major black eye for a game trying to reposition itself as a sport instead of an excuse to gamble.

Just last week, for instance, a committee in the House of Representatives approved a bill that would make it illegal to use credit cards as payment for online gaming if the individual resides in a state where gambling is illegal.

If the bill were passed, it would effectively prevent U.S. residents from online gambling, which could cripple the $3 billion-a-year industry.

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ESPN's "Poker" has lost 193,000 viewers in the two years it been on the air. And the Travel Channel's marquee "World Series of Poker" has seen its average audience drop to 464,000 this year from a peak of 583,000 in 2004.



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Great editing job by the NY Post.

This isn't surprising though, there's only so much growth possible. Many people burned out on this, and there's also the factor that the coverage is crap.

[youtalkfunny]

The only surprise here is that it remained as popular as it did for as LONG as it did.

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"Poker was a real underground trend, but now it has become so commercialized that the game's lost the gritty flavor that made it attractive,"

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Isn't that what happened to Quiet Riot's "Metal Health" album? Kid I went to high school with loved that album when it came out. One year later, he dismissed it, and the band, as "too commercial, bunch of sellouts". THE SAME FREAKING ALBUM! He loved it when no one else was listening to it.

[tom10167]

I think there's a difference between watching it on TV and gambooooling the [censored] out of a night playing live.
I'll take less of the former and more of the latter.

[Shrug]

"If the bill were passed, it would effectively prevent U.S. residents from online gambling, which could cripple the $3 billion-a-year industry."

Apparently the reporter is not aware of the myriad of ways to fund on-line poker accounts.

[The Young Gun]

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"If the bill were passed, it would effectively prevent U.S. residents from online gambling, which could cripple the $3 billion-a-year industry."

Apparently the reporter is not aware of the myriad of ways to fund on-line poker accounts.

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But is aware of how the fish do it.

[Qbit]

Gambling Sites as well as players have not figured this out. The politicians see billions of dollars going out the door and there parties are not getting any of it. This is like an old tax I used to see in the back rooms. It is Christmas time and the police need money to give to the needy children. So what is done. They go to the club say you may have to shut down in the new year. Give them money before christmas and the new years never comes. Offshore sites whether it be poker,sports betting or lotteries. The politicians are asking for their part of the politician tax either pay up or face difficulties. Simple as that.

[Wynton]

Those numbers about ratings seem pretty meaningless to me in terms of assessing poker's overall popularity. It's not surprising that the ratings for an individual show are down, considering that the number of shows has multiplied significantly.

I used to watch WPT all the time, but rarely do now because of the availability of other poker shows.

[-Skeme-]

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Those numbers about ratings seem pretty meaningless to me in terms of assessing poker's overall popularity. It's not surprising that the ratings for an individual show are down, considering that the number of shows has multiplied significantly.

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Not to mention ESPN shows WSOP 37 times a day. The article should post the stats for the WSOP and WPT DVD sales, too.

[surfinillini]

I thought it starting slowly dying out late last year...