If GSN is diversifying, how about poker?

[dickoon]

One of my Friends on my LiveJournal thingamajigger pointed to an announcement of a forthcoming "Casino and Gaming Channel" set to be launched next year.

Given that GSN has indicated its intention to diversify a little from pure game shows with the inception of its video games block, do you think it is at all likely that they might consider including casino gaming programming in the network? If you are prepared to accept that the commercial reality that GSN cannot be purely game shows, (a) would you personally be more interested in watching casino gaming television than video game television and (b) do you think casino gaming television would be a better fit with the GSN brand than video gaming television? My own view is that if people are playing poker on TV in a made-for-TV competition, then it's near enough a game show for all intents and purposes in the first place, dammit, but my opinions on this matter are famously, proudly liberal. *waves game show pinko flag*

Quoting the CNN article, The new channel, being announced Monday, will target the young male crowd, age 21 to 34.  Please can someone remind me which crowd GSN targets? I believe that traditionally game shows skew old, female and domestic, but I also suspect that "young male", or at least "young", is the audience that GSN are trying to go for to a limited extent with their recent original productions. Perhaps we might see poker shows on GSN yet if the new channel proves a success. (Then again, ESPN are set to be broadcasting Scrabble at some point in the future - and I'm referring to the game you've played all your life, only exactly like that. Plus they're covering chess for a week in November, too.)

By way of comparison, Challenge ? in the UK have moved moderately heavily into poker recently, what with broadcasts of Celebrity Poker Club (which, as far as I can tell, is Celebrity Poker Showdown - Showdown + Club) and the (possibly UK exclusive?) rights to the Travel Channel's World Poker Tour. Not sure how well the poker shows are doing for Challenge yet, but the way has been paved by Channel 4's Late Night Poker and has proved that there's at least some demand in this country.

I'm sure that one of the Internet poker room operators would only be too thrilled to run another poker room branded with a TV channel's logos and heavily promoted on-screen, but I'm not sure how the other advertisers would take to it.

Obligatory nostalgic crypticism: CROOOOCKPOOOOTS!

Cash me in,
Chris

• It's like a Plinko flag, but somehow much more Christmassy.

[PeterMarshallFan]

Oh, please no. GSN would find some way to make an innocent game of cards as edgy as possible.

Sorry, if it ain't a new Dealer's Choice, I pass.

[dickoon]

[quote name=\'PeterMarshallFan\' date=\'Oct 28 2003, 02:36 AM\'] GSN would find some way to make an innocent game of cards as edgy as possible. [/quote]
 The fact that there's a real money buy-in which contestants stand to lose makes the action just as edgy as the show needs. No need to add any further physical element to it at all. That said, I maintain there's nothing wrong with a bit of edginess, though where to draw the line is an interesting and personal question.

Extending this topic in a natural way, Challenge ? were looking to do a relatively straight quiz show, Stake Out, where contestants had a cash buy-in. There have been allegations made that this may not actually have happened in real life for all episodes as was portrayed on screen. I have heard nothing to suggest that the purported £1,000 buy-in on Channel 4's Grand Slam was anything other than as displayed on-screen. Interestingly, opinion is broadly that the £1,000 buy-in and winner-takes-all (ho-HO!) structure of Grand Slam did not make the game any better.

PMF, given the commercial reality that GSN has decided it needs to diversify, what would you try instead?

ObDiversification: Challenge ? in the UK are also showing "Celebrity TV Bloopers". Not what you or I would call core on-topic material but I guess you could make an apologist's leap to a justification by pointing out that it's hosted by Dick Clark... :-/

Hooray for the Pay Cards / Dealer's Choice / Card Sharks block,
Chris

PS One thought that a lot of you may enjoy is that this Casino and Gaming Network is probably relatively likely to be the first network to be interested in showing the USA network's Strip Poker apart from USA itself, which I suppose reduces the chance of it appearing on GSN.

[zachhoran]

[quote name=\'dickoon\' date=\'Oct 27 2003, 08:28 PM\'] Perhaps we might see poker shows on GSN yet if the new channel proves a success. (Then again, ESPN are set to be broadcasting Scrabble at some point in the future - and I'm referring to the game you've played all your life, only exactly like that. Plus they're covering chess for a week in November, too.)
 [/quote]
 GSN did do a pilot for a Blackjack-esque game a couple of years ago or so, but the pilot did not sell. The title escapes me now, but ROn Pearson hosted it.

[Brandon Brooks]

[quote name=\'dickoon\' date=\'Oct 27 2003, 09:41 PM\'] That said, I maintain there's nothing wrong with a bit of edginess, though where to draw the line is an interesting and personal question. [/quote]
 Anyone up for some Strip Poker?

No?

I'm not either.

Brandon Brooks

[BrandonFG]

[quote name=\'zachhoran\' date=\'Oct 27 2003, 09:44 PM\'] [quote name=\'dickoon\' date=\'Oct 27 2003, 08:28 PM\'] Perhaps we might see poker shows on GSN yet if the new channel proves a success. (Then again, ESPN are set to be broadcasting Scrabble at some point in the future - and I'm referring to the game you've played all your life, only exactly like that. Plus they're covering chess for a week in November, too.)
 [/quote]
GSN did do a pilot for a Blackjack-esque game a couple of years ago or so, but the pilot did not sell. The title escapes me now, but ROn Pearson hosted it. [/quote]
 Casino.

(holding back any references to that early-80s gem w/Jim Perry and related "stories")

[Dbacksfan12]

I believe they are going for 12-23 year old males.  Those ads for Viagra do them a lot of good.

[whampyl03]

Well, I’m going to give you my insights on this, and why all of this diversification will lead to the GSN Apocalypse. (and I‘ll bet you dimes to donuts that I‘ll receive some nasty e-mail from people because of my comments.)

If the folks that are visitors to the GSN boards remember, Almost every time GSN video games was brought up, I usually posted something to the slight effect of this- (and I know I’m going to get flamed up the foot for this...).  This programming has the potential not only to give rise to the second dark period, but the GSN apocalypse.  I remember in the interview with the professor and Rich Cronin a lot of  “games related programming” talk, and how Mr. Cronin wants GSN to be the world-wide leader in “games related programming” in a few years down the road.  Now, that sets off alarm bells in my head. “games related programming” as in strip checkers, slot machines, and wet T-shirt contests?  Maybe with a game show mixed in the fray?  That may sound like heaven on earth to some, but not to me.  Now, I think that Cronin believes that the game show only belonged in TV’s infancy; that the game show is dead, and he has the network schedules to prove it.  Look at the big 3 major networks- ABC, CBS, & NBC and do a game show head count  (traditional game shows, not counting that reality such and such).  I don’t think you’ll find too many.  I don’t know what it shows you, but it shows me that those mentioned opinions above hold true to TV execs today, and I would not be surprised if Mr. Cronin thinks that too.  With the current trends, I would be greatly surprised if GSN has more than 3 hours of both original and classic programming of the traditional game show variety on the schedule 5 years down the line.  This new thing will rise from the ashes as just another MTV clone, but with “games related programming”.  It scares me to near death, what could very well happen.   It will not only be the start of dark period II, but the beginning of  the GSN Apocalypse.  Call me Chicken Little, I guess; Hell, call me a stupid idiot, but I strongly feel that my side of the argument is  justified.

And guys, I’ve been flamed way too much on other boards because I brought up this smear on other boards,  but if you want to challenge my side of the argument with intelligence and logic, and reframe from saying bad things about my mother, than by all means. But if you have to flame me, you know how to contact me.

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'whampyl03\' date=\'Oct 28 2003, 01:33 AM\'] And guys, I’ve been flamed way too much on other boards because I brought up this smear on other boards,  but if you want to challenge my side of the argument with intelligence and logic, and reframe from saying bad things about my mother, than by all means. But if you have to flame me, you know how to contact me. [/quote]
 You'll receive no flame from me ,'cuz it simply isn't worth my time. 'Cuz there's no argument. All you have there is a bunch of "I think"s and "I bet"s, without a shred of solid fact to back it up. Give me something to refute, and I'll take some time to refute it.

[Gromit]

Agreed that there's not much evidence, but that doesn't mean he's wrong.

GSN is is just a shell of what it was a few years ago, and is still trending downwards.

All "in my humble" of course.

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'Gromit\' date=\'Oct 28 2003, 07:05 AM\'] Agreed that there's not much evidence, but that doesn't mean he's wrong.
 [/quote]
 Of course not. Of course, I can stand here and say that GSN has acquired Concentration and that Jack Narz will be on your TV screen tomorrow, and until tomorrow has come and gone, you can't say I'm wrong, either.

I'm just saying that he's more likely to get a discussion out of that statement if he backs it up with some reliable fact.

[Jay Temple]

[quote name=\'dickoon\' date=\'Oct 27 2003, 09:41 PM\'] ObDiversification: Challenge ? in the UK are also showing "Celebrity TV Bloopers". Not what you or I would call core on-topic material but I guess you could make an apologist's leap to a justification by pointing out that it's hosted by Dick Clark... :-/

Chris [/quote]
By that line of reasoning, the SciFi channel could show Courtship of Eddie's Father.  After all, Bill Bixby starred in The Incredible Hulk, which is on their network already, and My Favorite Martian which could be considered a sci-fi comedy.

Nevertheless, I'd have much less of a philosophical complaint about including poker than I do about including Love Connection.

[J.R.]

I'll say this once and I'll say it again:

GSN has the right to do anything it wants to do without anyone's approval.

There.
-Joe R.

[Dbacksfan12]

[quote name=\'JRaygor\' date=\'Oct 28 2003, 02:16 PM\'] I'll say this once and I'll say it again:

GSN has the right to do anything it wants to do without anyone's approval.

There.
-Joe R. [/quote]
 Agreed.  Don't like it; change the channel.

[Dan Sadro]

[quote name=\'Dsmith\' date=\'Oct 28 2003, 03:59 PM\'] Agreed.  Don't like it; change the channel. [/quote]
 You notice all these complaints, but when GSN does something right (the special hour of TTTT and He Said, She Said), nothing is mentioned.

What gives?