NBC Cans National Heads Up Poker Championship

Friday, October 14, 2011 : BROADCASTER CANS NATIONAL HEADS UP POKER CHAMPS
 
Speculation that current negative spotlight on poker in the US is behind NBC decision
 
In the US, the game of poker has been dealt another blow, this time by major television broadcaster NBC. The corporate has removed the popular National Heads Up Poker Championship from its 2012 calendar.
 
The story was broken earlier this week by the online poker information site Wicked Chops.com, which quoted NBC sports senior director of communications Adam Freifeld, who confirmed the cancellation but said that the door has not completely shut beyond 2012, and that the network will “continue to evaluate our poker programming.”
 
The NCOOP is a Caesars Entertainment collaboration which brings together 64 top poker pros and celebrities in a series of heads up, NLHE poker encounters, and in the past has received good viewer ratings.
 
Whilst no reason for the cancellation was given, industry observers have noted that major online poker operators advertised, and players wore branded clothing, during the televised games, leading to speculation that the cancellation is connected with Black Friday's enforcement actions against individuals associated with Full Tilt Poker, Pokerstars and Absolute Poker.