WPT Enterprises (WPTE), the company that owns, distributes, and licenses the World Poker Tour (WPT) brand and television program, has sued the Travel Channel, the network that airs the WPT program. WPTE claims that the Travel Channel has interfered with its potential third party contractual relationships. WPTE also said that it believes that this interference constitutes a breach of the Travel Channel contractual obligations.

The legal dispute concerns the distribution of a new television program developed by WPTE. The agreement in place between the WPTE and the Travel Channel dictates that the Travel Channel is given first dibs on new programming developed by the WPTE. The Travel Channel has 60 days within which to opt for the content, after which period, the WPTE may solicit other vendors. In the case of “Professional Poker Tour," while negotiations were initiated between the two companies, no deal was reached within the 60-day window.

In addition to having first rights to new programming, the Travel Channel also has the opportunity to match competitor bids. As stated above, after the initial 60-day period, other companies can bid for the WPTE's new programming. Nonetheless, the WPTE is bound by contract to give the Travel Channel fifteen days within which to compete with the third party. After the initial 60-day window transpired, the WPTE received an offer from a competing network, believed to be ESPN, which already broadcasts the wildly popular World Series of Poker (WSOP). Following through with its obligations, the WPTE forwarded the offer to the Travel Channel, giving it the opportunity to match the bid. The Travel Channel has until the 27th of September to match the bid.

The Travel Channel responded by sending letters to the WPTE and the other network, claiming that these negotiations betrayed their contractual obligations. The WPTE perceived these letters as interference in its legitimate third-party contractual negotiations, and thus, earlier this week filed a suit against the Travel Channel in Los Angeles Superior Court.

As the WPTE and the Travel Channel have three WPT seasons of partnership behind them,a partnership that greatly contributed to the current poker boom, this legal dispute creates a delicate situation in this otherwise successful relationship. Steven Lipscomb, Founder and CEO of WPT Enterprises, Inc., said "We have forged a strong relationship with the Travel Channel over the last three years and are in the middle of producing Season IV of the World Poker Tour, the most successful show in the history of the Travel Channel." Lipscomb further said, "We need to be very clear that this dispute is not about either side's commitment to further building the WPT franchise together. This is simply an issue of process and contractual interpretation with regard to the new Professional Poker Tour program."

Source:  Poker777 Staff

Friday, 23 September 2005