Epic Poker Expands Programming Audience Internationally With The Poker Channel and Gaming Media Group

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Epic Poker League – the new professional poker league that hosted its third Inaugural Season Main Event last month at Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas – announced a partnership today that will bring Epic Poker League programming to millions of established and aspiring poker fans throughout Europe. The deal will see more than 70 hours of Epic Poker tournament broadcast coverage featured on The Poker Channel throughout Europe which broadcasts to over 30 million cable and satellite TV homes and online to a global audience.

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Epic Poker League will make its official television debut on The Poker Channel on Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012.  A full TV schedule with previews and programming details is available at www.pokerchanneleurope.com/epic. This information can also be found at www.Facebook.com/PokerChannel.

"Expanding our television coverage into Europe is a step forward for building a global fan base for Epic Poker," said Katherine Kowal, Vice President of League Operations and Programming, Federated Sports + Gaming.  "Poker Channel Europe, with quality distribution and broad reach, will help us introduce our content to a very important market and audience."

"With the incredible success of Epic Poker League's first three events and high-quality production, they are a great partner for the Poker Channel," said Chris White, Gaming Media Group's Director of Business Development. "We're proud to bring this unique format featuring the world's best players to millions of Poker Channel viewers."

The Poker Channel broadcasts the most popular tournaments in the world along with instructional shows, news updates, live events, tournament reports and player interviews. Cable and satellite TV coverage extends to 30 million TV homes across Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

About Federated Sports + Gaming (FS+G)

FS+G is a leading poker entertainment company that serves players and fans through nationally televised events, interactive digital programming and social media gaming.

The company is breaking new ground in poker with the launch of the Epic Poker League – an exclusive tournament series designed to serve more than 200 of the world's top live tournament players, as determined by a set of objective, analytically rigorous qualifying criteria. In its first year, the Epic Poker League is staging four $20,000 rake-free Main Events for its members and awarding to its champion a $1 million cash prize.

Through its ownership of Heartland Poker Tour (HPT), FS+G also serves poker players and fans across the United States. Built on a grass-root strategy of "Real People, Unreal Money," HPT provides poker enthusiasts across the country with a televised tournament experience that prides itself on affordable buy-ins. HPT has hosted more than 90,000 entrants, awarded more than $32 million in prize money, produced more than 190 hours of television content, and staged nearly 100 events since 2005.  

FS+G has developed and made available for poker players and fans everywhere the Global Poker Index™ (GPI™), a patent pending system to rank and track the weekly performance of the world's top 300 live tournament poker players. The GPI is distributed weekly through www.globalpokerindex.com, published in both the print and online editions of USA TODAY, and through EpicPoker.com. For additional updates and features from Epic Poker, visit the Facebook page; follow along on Twitter @EpicPoker and play Epic Poker online, anytime, anywhere with the new Facebook game available now.

For tournament schedules and information please visit www.federatedinc.com, www.epicpoker.com, www.HPTpoker.com and www.globalpokerindex.com.

About The Poker Channel

The Poker Channel is a world leader in poker and gaming entertainment, broadcasting to over 30 million TV homes in over 30 countries and online to a global audience. It reaches a passionate and engaged audience with the world's largest collection of poker programming including top tournaments, the World Series of Poker, High Stakes Poker, European Poker Tour and World Poker Tour, instructional shows, live action, game analysis, news, reports and player interviews. The Channel has created its own industry-leading TV formats and won several industry awards including EGR's Rising Star of the Year.

Over 3 million unique viewers engage with Poker Channel programs each month.

Since expanding onto European TV in 2007, the Poker Channel has more than tripled its audience with world-class international programming and partnerships with hundreds of TV providers, broadcasters and online communities. The Poker Channel is a subsidiary of Gaming Media Group. The Poker Channel is simulcast globally at www.pokerchanneleurope.com/pokertv.

SOURCE Epic Poker