Thursday, February 23rd, 2012
Viewing figures for the climax to the WSOP main event, the “November Nine” dropped off noticeable for the 2010 edition, compared to the 2009 version.
There was a 30% decline for ESPN, with their two hour special aired on the Tuesday after the final table was concluded on the Sunday with Jonathan Duhamel taking the title. Some drop off always seemed likely with the absence of Phil Ivey from the final table. The biggest name this year was Michael “The Grinder ” Mizrachi, a fine player but not quite with Ivey’s stellar status.
ESPN have admitted publically they will look into the decline and decide if they need to make any changes to their poker programming.
However, they were very content with the live broadcast of the final table online via ESPN3, with around 60,000 viewers. ESPN have made a long term commitment to the WSOP, they are tied into a contract with Harrahs until 2018.
