WSOP TV Ratings

I bring these ratings up because some folks think the Rio is too valuable to sell because of the WSOP..

The WSOP has jumped the shark, numbers don't lie people do...




First the 2015 ratings

On the final day ESPN drew just under the 1.159 million poker fans who tuned into watch the final last year.

The November Nine format saw its viewership peak when it was first introduced in 2008, drawing 2.364 million eyeballs. Ratings dropped in the following four years, reaching a low in 2012 of just 735,000 final table viewers. In 2013, the ratings picked back up, almost doubling the preceding year with 1.234 million viewers.



Here are the 2014 ratings

Ratings for the Monday night marathon were up 10-13% year-over-year, pulling .33 US HHs (459,000 viewers) that peaked with a .5. Given the competition against a key demographic (the show ran against Monday Night Football), this would be considered a strong win.

The Tuesday WSOP night broadcast averaged .81 US HHs (1.16M viewers), down 6% from 2013. It peaked with a 1.01 and held steady at a .81 when Martin Jacobson won the title.

The Rio is not valuable except for the WSOP which fills the rooms at the Rio.

Here's the situation:

Caesars has been trying to sell the Rio for years. No one will buy the Rio unless the WSOP stays at the Rio. But the plan at Caesars is to sell the Rio and move the WSOP to Caesars Palace where they have the unused convention center behind the swimming pools, and they have several floors of banquet halls which could easily be converted into large tournament rooms.

Most of the positive income from the Rio comes from the few weeks that the WSOP is there. Television ratings have nothing to do with the number of players who fill the hotel rooms at the Rio. The price of the Rio has nothing to do with TV ratings either. The price of the Rio has everything to do with hotel occupancy and if the WSOP is moved to Caesars Palace the value of the Rio tanks.

Why hasn't Caesars moved the WSOP yet? Is it because they know Rio will die without it?

None of their other properties have the infrastructure (especially the parking) to support it.