Poker Entertainment Redefined by PokerGO

This morning Poker Central launched PokerGO, the ultimate live poker subscription service. VP of Content Sam Simmons played a large role in the birth of this revolutionary platform and talks candidly about the changes Poker Central has undergone, what PokerGO will do for the future of and access to both live and on-demand poker streaming.

“PokerGO is the ultimate service for high-quality poker entertainment,” Simmons said enthusiastically. “Our goal is to provide all poker fans, whether they be the most passionate or more casual, with the best in live events, as well as, a wide array of original programming related to the game.”

Poker Central was launched in 2015 as a linear television network with the goal of becoming a fully distributed channel dedicated to poker, but that has been a thing of the past since December 31st 2016.

“We found the process of securing carriage on the major cable and satellite TV players to be near impossible in the current media climate,” said Simmons.

“Meanwhile, we saw industry trends going the opposite way as skinny-bundles began to take over, cable and satellite subscriber numbers took a nosedive as more ‘cord cutters’ and ‘cord nevers’ enter the market, and big time players in tradition TV like Esquire Network go direct-to-consumer digitally,” Simmons continued. “These larger media industry trends, coupled with the typical poker fan’s propensity to consume all their content digitally made it a no-brainer for us to change our model by offering up our top-notch poker content direct to fans around the world.”

PokerGO offers more than 100 days of live poker programming, in a partnership with Poker Productions. On top of that, the platform will include a library of classic poker shows such as Poker After Dark as well as world premiere original programming like Dead Money: A Super High Roller Bowl Story, a documentary showcasing Matt Berkey’s unlikely Super High Roller Bowl final table run in 2016. All programming will be available globally.

“I’m fired up about the quality of live content that will be on PokerGO. We’ve recently partnered with renowned poker production company, aptly called Poker Productions, founded by Mori Eskandani. They’ve done the World Series of Poker since 2009, the Super High Roller Bowl since its formation and produced classics like Poker After Dark and High Stakes Poker,” said Simmons. 

“For years, they have continued to set the standard for high-quality poker entertainment. They will be producing all the live poker on PokerGO, and with more than 100 days of live poker planned per year, there’s a lot to be excited about.”

Because of PokerGO, geo-restricted viewing is now also a thing of the past with regards to the WSOP Main Event. PokerGO allows fans from all over the world to experience poker’s biggest event first hand.

“The viewing experience on PokerGO will be phenomenal. Unlike the Poker Central of old, PokerGO will be available on almost every device out there to fans all around the world. No more limitations on content availability.”

“Anyone who has played in the WSOP Main Event and lasted more than a few days knows what a grind it can be. That grind is what makes the event so great. It requires a consistent level of focus for longer than pretty much any event out there,” said Simmons. “Although the stage is different early on, the choices you make on Day 1 have a drastic on the later days and eventual final table. We believe that’s a story worth telling, and that’s what we hope to do through our WSOP Main Event coverage as we follow the action from day one all the way until a champion is crowned.”

With the World Series of Poker kicking off as the Super High Roller Bowl ends, PokerGO stays in high gear with a large slate of final tables for broadcast and live production by Poker Productions.

“We’ve put together a lineup of the top-billed and most interesting bracelet events to broadcast live on PokerGO,” Simmons said. “We’ve done our best to include a good mix including varying buy-in sizes, different poker formats, as well as, some of the fun specialty events like the Seniors tournament. We’d also love to hear from fans what they want to see more or less of in future years.”
 
“Quality vs Quantity can be mutually exclusive ideas in many cases, but through the content on PokerGO, we hope to merge the two,” Simmons continued. “It’s the biggest events in the game with the highest production quality standards, all live and available at your fingertips on any device that you own no matter where you are.”

“Gone are the days of waiting months to watch a final table, or having to rely on spam refreshing a live updates webpage,” he added. “PokerGO is your seat at the table whenever you’re ready to play.”
 
Last but certainly not least, PokerGO will also host and stream their own high stakes cash games, produced by Poker PROductions. Simmons closes out with another note on that, as poker content will forever be changed by the arrival of PokerGO.
 
“We love high stakes at Poker Central, and wouldn’t it be nice to get the nosebleeds back on camera? The games are still out there, so let’s watch.”