It looks as if Black Friday has struck again, as the long-running televised poker cash-game, High Stakes Poker, will see its run on the Game Show Network come to an end according to a report by BuzzerBlog.com. The site is reporting that the network’s January lineup does not feature the popular poker telecast after January 2nd, 2012, ending a six-year run on the network.

A number of poker shows have been cancelled in the wake of Black Friday, including the PokerStars Big Game and the NBC Heads-Up Poker Championship, as the tremendous amount of advertising revenue from Full Tilt poker and PokerStars has been pulled from these programs.

Even before Black Friday, rumors had been swirling over the past few seasons of HSP that the show might not be renewed by GSN. The show also saw ratings dwindle after long-time host Gabe Kaplan was replaced with Norm MacDonald, as well as numerous copycat shows popping up on the airwaves.

Now, with online poker sites unable, or unwilling, to advertise directly during these programs through ad-buys, and players unable to wear their sponsors patches and logos at the tables, it comes as little surprise to most of the poker community that HSP will not be returning for another season.

So it appears that only major live poker tournaments will be on the TV schedule in the foreseeable future, while the made-for-TV poker shows are all but extinct in the United States.

Tags: Advertising Revenue, Big Game, Black Friday, Cash Game, Copycat, Full tilt Poker, Gabe Kaplan, Game Show Network, Heads Up Poker, Heads-Up Poker Championship, High stakes poker, Hsp, January 2nd, Nbc Heads Up Poker, Nbc Heads Up Poker Championship, Norm Macdonald, Online Poker sites, Poker Tournaments, PokerStars, Televised Poker

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