Some Press Releases on A Thursday

I’ll provide some press release information for you.

First, ESPN says the finale of the World Series of Poker on Tuesday rated well. This is also for poster SaratogaSpa who wanted to know.

POKER’S PREMIERE EVENT ENJOYS SIGNIFICANT AUDIENCE INCREASE ON ESPN

As Denmark’s Peter Eastgate became the youngest champion ever in front of a packed house in Las Vegas, nearly 2.4 million viewers were tuned into ESPN’s groundbreaking same-day coverage of the World Series of Poker, presented by Milwaukee’s Best Light on Tuesday, November 11.

The telecast earned a 1.9 rating, up 46% from 1.3 for the final showdown in 2007, and represents 1,905,000 homes and 2,364,000 viewers in the average minute. Those are increases of 53% in homes (from 1,249,000) and 52% among viewers (from 1,552,000).

For the 2008 season’s schedule of 32 shows, averages were 0.9 rating, 919,000 homes and 1,126,000 people, up 13% among homes (from 815,000) and 15% among viewers (from 981,000).

Next, NBC Sports tells us that Tiger Woods’ caddie, Steve Williams makes his broadcasting debut on the pre-taped Kiwi Challenge that airs this weekend.

NBC SPORTS PRESENTS INAUGURAL KIWI CHALLENGE

Event Featured Four of World’s Best Young Golfers Competing in New Zealand

Steve Williams, Tiger’s Caddie, Makes Broadcasting Debut

NEW YORK – November 13, 2008 – NBC Sports will broadcast coverage of the inaugural Kiwi Challenge, which featured four of the top young players in the world – U.S. Ryder Cup heroes Anthony Kim and Hunter Mahan, as well as Adam Scott and Brandt Snedeker, and the broadcasting debut of Tiger Woods' caddie Steve Williams, Saturday and Sunday, 4-6 p.m. ET. The event was held in late October on two of the most picturesque courses in the world: Kauri Cliffs and Cape Kidnappers in New Zealand. 

Dan Hicks, Roger Maltbie and Gary Koch called the action, joined on course by the New Zealand native Williams.

MALTBIE ON WILLIAMS: "It was great for him be on that side of it and see what we have to do in covering a tournament. I think he enjoyed seeing the event from that perspective."

MALTBIE ON MAHAN AND KIM: "Obviously the Ryder Cup was their coming out party and these are two guys who are not going anywhere. They are immensely talented and have the moxie to go with it."

MALTBIE ON CAPE KIDNAPPERS: "I think viewers are going to be amazed by these courses that they've probably never seen before, particularly Kidnappers. I had a chance to play it and I was blown away. It was one of the most difficult, picturesque and quite frankly one of the best courses I have ever played."

The PGA TOUR and Kiwi Challenge signed a three-year deal to include the event as a part of the Challenge Events' season. The season includes some of the TOUR's most high profile events including Tiger Woods' Chevron World Challenge, the Del Webb Father/Son Challenge, Greg Norman's Merrill Lynch Shootout and ADT Skills Challenge, all of which will air on NBC in December.

Finally, NBA TV has next Tuesday’s pick for Fan Night Matchup plus we have some programming notes.

NBA TV Game Coverage Continues with Chicago Bulls @ L.A. Lakers Fan Night Matchup, Guest Appearances by TNT’s Kenny Smith and Cheryl Miller and Debut of Weekly Euroleague Game

The third week of NBA TV Fan Night voting is in the books with the fans selecting the Chicago Bulls @ L.A. Lakers match-up which claimed 46% of the votes over 10 other matchups. The game will air on Tues., Nov. 18 at 10:30 p.m. ET with NBA TV announcers Ahmad Rashad, Chris Webber and Gary Payton on hand for studio coverage beginning at 7 p.m. ET.

New to the NBA TV studio this week are TNT studio analyst Kenny Smith and sideline reporter Cheryl Miller, who will serve as guest analysts on Fri., Nov. 14. Smith and Miller will be alongside Rick Kamla and Steve Smith for NBA GameTime beginning at 7 p.m. ET and will provide analysis throughout the evening. Miller will join Kamla and Smith again on Sat., Nov. 15 for the network’s broadcast of the New Orleans Hornets @ Houston Rockets with coverage beginning at 8 p.m. ET. The studio crew will provide pre- and postgame commentary as well as analysis of the rest of the NBA’s Saturday night games during NBA GameTime.

Also new this week, NBA TV’s Euroleague Game of the Week coverage will debut featuring former Atlanta Hawks guard Josh Childress as he leads Olympiacos against Maccabi Electra. The game will air live on Sat., Nov. 15 at 1 p.m. ET and the network will continue to air a weekly Euroleague matchup every Saturday throughout the regular season.

Live NBA action continues on Sun., Nov. 16, as Andre Aldridge and Eric Snow tipoff the evening with the AutoTrader.com Pregame Show at 7:30 p.m. ET, followed by Allen Iverson and the Detroit Pistons @ Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns at 8 p.m. ET. Aldridge and Snow will conclude the evening with the Postgame Show presented by Hyundai and NBA GameTime. Aldridge, Snow and Smith return to the studio on Mon., Nov. 17 for the San Antonio Spurs @ L.A. Clippers. Studio coverage begins at 8 p.m. ET.

NBA TV’s weekly programming will feature its three signature nights, including:

• Fan Night (Tuesdays): The Beat is a weekly roundtable show featuring NBA beat writers from newspapers across the country who will join host Marc Fein and TNT Insider David Aldridge to cover hot topics and NBA news.

Fan Night Week #4 voting opens on NBA.com on Tues., Nov. 18 for fans to decide the next NBA matchup they most want to see televised on NBA TV on Nov. 18. Voting will remain open until Wed., Nov. 19 with the fans’ selection being announced that night on NBA TV.

· Premiere Night (Wednesdays): Real NBA will air on Wed., Nov. 19 at 7 p.m. ET with a profile on the many pairs of players whose complementary styles created a winning formula for success.

Go behind the scenes with two sets of All-Star pairings looking to lead their teams to new heights with Chris Bosh and Jermaine O’Neal of the Toronto Raptors, and MVP candidate Chris Paul and big man David West of the New Orleans Hornets.

Also, NBA TV will air an NBA SPECIAL at 7:30 p.m. ET. In this 30-minute show Kareem Abdul-Jabbar talks to host Roy S. Johnson about his latest book, On the Shoulders of Giants, which chronicles the history of the Harlem Renaissance. He takes us on a trip to the places where he grew up, become a man and fell in love with the game of basketball.

· Legends Night (Thursdays): Thursday nights on NBA TV will continue to showcase the rich heritage of the NBA during Legends Night. The featured legends on Thurs., Nov. 20 will be the New York Knicks with interviews, features and historical games airing from 8 p.m. – 2 a.m. ET.

That’s it.