Senior WSOP Execs Believe Social Media Has Changed The Way Poker Content Is Consumed

Summary:

• WSOP Paradise will conclude on Dec 14 in the Bahamas
• Senior WSOP executives shared their thoughts with Fox News on the poker landscape
• Poker continues to grow globally thanks to social media platforms

The inaugural edition of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Paradise tournament will come to a close on Dec 14.

The WSOP Paradise tournament started on Dec 3 in the Bahamas and had over $50 million in prize money along with 15 gold bracelets up for grabs.

The WSOP has had a tremendous year once again in 2023 and have closed on a strong note with a successful WSOP Paradise edition. Jack Effel, VP for the WSOP and Senior VP Ty Stewart sat down with Fox News to share their views on the global poker landscape.

Traditional TV Ratings Down But Social Media Stats Up

When Chris Moneymaker won the 2003 WSOP Main Event, the global interest in the game of poker started to soar and top poker brands like the WSOP and World Poker Tour (WPT) would then take steps to get poker on television.

During the last 15 years (2005-2020) a lot of poker fans around the world would tune into TV shows that included coverage of top poker tournaments and players. However, things have changed in the poker landscape as poker TV ratings are no longer what they used to be as traditional TV poker shows have witnessed declining numbers in the last few years.

Ty Stewart told Fox News that there is no question that TV poker show ratings have declined but pointed out that it wasn’t because the interest in poker was declining worldwide but rather due to the fact that poker fans have chosen to consume poker related content from social media networks rather than traditional TV networks.

Fans Prefer Live Content Than Pre-Recorded Content

One of the reasons why traditional TV poker content has declined is because the current generation of poker fans prefer live poker content than watching pre-recorded content. This is why poker channels/commentators on Twitch and YouTube continue to grow at a rapid rate as poker fans get to select and curate the content they want to watch.

Top poker operators like the WSOP, GGPoker and PokerStars have now placed a huge emphasis on social media channels to release content and engage poker fans around the world.