It may be thought that the United States has the market cornered when it comes to poker on television, but one thing that it does not have is a dedicated channel for the game. For this, you have to look to Europe and The Poker Channel, which began broadcasting in 2005. Since that time, The Poker Channel has been able to expand its offerings and now services 17 nations that span the continent. In a recent announcement, The Poker Channel demonstrated their commitment to poker by stepping up its efforts on the online front.
The Poker Channel’s online site, Poker Channel Europe, announced that its has expanded beyond its English site to include a German language site. The website, which contains dedicated commentary for its German speaking audience, can be found on Poker Channel Europe’s site by clicking on the German flag. Also included in the announcement was news that The Poker Channel will be unveiling dedicated online sites for France and Romania in the near future.
PokerChannelEurope.com offers a number of features that should interest players from around the world. Poker news and player interviews are interspersed with videos on poker strategy to offer lessons on how to improve your poker game. In addition to these features, Poker Channel Europe also offers coverage of some of the preeminent events on the European poker scene and from other tournaments around the world.
To premier its new German site, Poker Channel Europe will be offering the exclusive online broadcast rights to the Poker Heaven European Cash Game. The Poker Heaven European Cash Game is an invitational-only event featuring some of the best players in the game as well as up and comers who are making an impact. Two of the featured players during this event – which was filmed in late 2008 in response to increasing demand for cash game poker on television – will be the reigning World Series of Poker Main Event Champion Peter Eastgate and German cash game specialist Chris Haller.
In addition to the debut of the Poker Heaven European Cash Game, The Poker Channel and its online site continue to offer other broadcasting of interest to poker players. The Poker Channel owns Europe’s largest library of poker programming with more than 600 hours of premium content including the World Series of Poker, the World Poker Tour and other major tournaments. In additional, it has the rights to air instructional shows, documentaries, and top player profiles. The Poker Channel attracts close to one million unique television viewers per month, with 65% of its viewers also playing online every day.
Gaming Media Group, the parent company of The Poker Channel and Poker Channel Europe, announced results for the fiscal year that ended on October 31st, 2008 and showed vast increases across the board. Gaming Media Group doubled its television advertising revenues and achieved a 57% increase in overall revenues, taking into account casino, Bingo, and television advertising. Its gross profits for the fiscal year grew by four times the previous year to £1 million.
