Steve Rosenbloom at Espn.com reports that the World Series of Poker is taking on the World Poker Tour for dominance of the year round poker tour by leveraging its connection with ESPN to lure the best players to WSOP circuit events. This combines two of my favorite things: poker and the competition for distribution. The WSOP has settled into 12 circuit events scheduled right on top of WPT events throughout 05-06 (compare schedules here and here). Players will not be able to play in both in most circumstances. So what will competition between the two tours look like?
Rosenbloom suggests a few likely dimensions for competition: lowering room rates, loosening player endorsement rules, perhaps slowing down blind structures to increase the amount of play (favoring "better" players), locating tournaments near the homes of top professionals, and increasing player exposure (where WSOP/ESPN clearly dominates WPT/Travel Channel at the moment). I imagine that we might even see tours paying for long-term exclusive commitments with top players (I will leave my thoughts on poker payola for another day....).
The player faces a number of important trade-offs in making this decision. Will big name pros prefer to play in a tournament with 1000 players and 200 big name professionals or 5000 players who are mostly unknown? Which would be more difficult to win? Will the WSOP's ESPN advantage be insurmountable because it creates other financial opportunities for top players (books, DVDs, TV shows, etc.)? Who knows. It is pretty clear that the player's decision is a complex one. It will be very interesting to see how both the WSOP and WPT approach this branding decision in the coming years.
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1. Posted by Vic Fleischer on August 12, 2005 @ 22:28 | Permalink
Seems like there must be a game theory dimension here. Doesn't the right answer depend on what the other top players do? If I'm a top player and Dan Negreanu, Phl Ivey, and a bunch of heavyweights have committed to ESPN, I might go with WPT. Better chance of winning the tourney, and better branding opportunities too.
In the long run, is a stable equilibrium with two leagues possible? Seems like with pro sports markets, there is never more than one big one that survives. ESPN seems to have the edge lately, but if the poker boom cools, WPT might be the long term winner. One ratings disappointment and ESPN goes back to hockey. I like WPT -- their coverage is better and appeals more to the purist in me.
2. Posted by Joshua Wright on August 13, 2005 @ 8:26 | Permalink
The players' best responses to other players would be pretty tough to figure out, but could lead to a one tour equilibrium. My purely speculative guess is that 2 will survive for awhile because of the numbers of new players that have emerged in the last few years. Seems like the opportunity to be a top star at the WPT will be enough to attract some players.
Personally, I would prefer to watch the Big Game at the Bellagio over any tournament.
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