WPT Enterprises, Inc. Secures Key Broadcast Licensees in Southeast Asia, Bringing Macau and Singapore Networks to the Poker Table
WPT Enterprises, Inc. Secures Key Broadcast Licensees in Southeast Asia, Bringing Macau and Singapore Networks to the Poker Table
New Network Deals Bring Total Number of Territories to 154 Airing the Show
WPTE's PROFESSIONAL POKER TOUR Secures First International Airings
LOS ANGELES, Sept. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- WPT Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WPTE) announced today that it has inked pacts with Macau Cable in Macau and MediaCorp in Singapore to air its flagship show, WORLD POKER TOUR(R) (WPT). The agreements elevate to 154 the number of territories in which WPT shows now air.
Macau, a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, is one of the highest volume gaming centers in the world. Macau Cable will air the WPT's Season I. MediaCorp, the largest broadcaster in Singapore, will feature Season II for its viewers.
"These two deals give us a secure foothold in Southeast Asia, along with our deals in the Philippines," said Gary MacKinney, WPTE Executive Director of International Distribution. "With the long history of gaming in Macau and the recent licenses issued to a number of international gaming giants who will build or run major new casinos, this area is only going to get hotter."
Regionally, WPTE has an ongoing relationship, established in 2004 with Solar Entertainment, to air the U.S. version of the show. Additionally, WPTE has an agreement with the largest integrated media and entertainment company in the Philippines, ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp., to license and air on its network local staged WPT events.
WPTE also announced that it had made the initial international sale of its new PROFESSIONAL POKER TOUR(TM) (PPT) to Canada's City TV. The premier PPT season is currently airing on the Travel Channel in the United States.
Other recent deals include the first WPTE broadcasting commitment in Spain where Fox will air WPT's Season I. In addition to the PPT, Canada's City TV will air the recently completed WPT Season IV.
"WPTE's continued international broadcast expansion has fueled the worldwide poker phenomenon and has given us first position in the increasingly larger global poker marketplace," said Steve Lipscomb, CEO and founder of WPTE. "The demand for our programming has been gratifying and the speed of growth exhilarating."
About WPTE
WPT Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WPTE) is a company engaged in the creation of internationally branded entertainment and consumer products driven by the development, production, and marketing of televised programming based on gaming themes. WPTE is the creator of the World Poker Tour(R), a television show based on a series of high-stakes poker tournaments that airs on the Travel Channel in the United States and more than 150 markets globally. With the WPT in its fifth season, WPTE has launched a second series on the Travel Channel, the Professional Poker Tour(TM), which focuses on the play of poker's leading stars. WPT also operates a real-money online gaming website, www.wptonline.com, which prohibits wagers from players in the U.S. and other restricted jurisdictions. WPTE currently licenses its brand to companies in the business of poker equipment and instruction, apparel, publishing, electronic and wireless entertainment, DVD/home entertainment, casino games, and giftware. The company is also engaged in the sale of corporate sponsorships. For show information, tools for improving poker play, and other WPT news, fans may log on to www.worldpokertour.com. WPTE is a majority owned subsidiary of Lakes Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:LACO). Photos and media information can be found online at: www.worldpokertour.com/media
WPTEG
The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a "safe harbor" for forward-looking statements. Certain information included in this press release (as well as information included in oral statements or other written statements made or to be made by WPT Enterprises, Inc.) contains statements that are forward-looking, such as statements relating to the expansion of WPTE's brand licensing, the development of new television and film projects, the development of WPTE corporate sponsors and other business development activities, as well as statements regarding other capital spending, financing sources and the effects of competition. Such forward-looking information involves important risks and uncertainties that could significantly affect anticipated results in the future and, accordingly, such results may differ from those expressed in any forward-looking statements made by or on behalf of WPTE. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, WPTE's significant dependence on the Travel Channel as a source of revenue; difficulty of predicting the growth of our online casino business, which is a relatively new industry with an increasing number of market entrants; the increased time, cost and expense of developing and maintaining WPTE's own online gaming software; the potential that our television programming will fail to maintain a sufficient audience; the risk that competitors with greater financial resources or marketplace presence might develop television programming that would directly compete with WPTE's television programming; the risk that WPT may not be able to protect its entertainment concepts, current and future brands and other intellectual property rights; risks associated with future expansion into new or complementary businesses; the termination or impairment of WPTE's relationships with key licensing and strategic partners; and WPTE's dependence on its senior management team. For more information, review WPTE's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Contact:
Lyndsay LaGree/WPT PR
323 330 9876
llagree@worldpokertour.com
Gary MacKinney/WPTE International
Distribution
323 330 9886
gmackinney@worldpokertour.com
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050809/LATU100LOGO )
Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050809/LATU100LOGO
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: WPT Enterprises, Inc.
CONTACT: Lyndsay LaGree of WPT PR, +1-323-330-9876,
llagree@worldpokertour.com, or Gary MacKinney of WPTE International
Distribution, +1-323-330-9886, gmackinney@worldpokertour.com
Web site: http://www.worldpokertour.com/
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