USA TODAY And Global Poker Index Team Up For Multi-Year Content Agreement
The USA TODAY Sports Media Group and the Global Poker Index (GPI) have entered into a multi-year content partnership that is expected to see the GPI provide dedicated poker content to USA TODAY’s print and online publications.
The partnership was announced in a joint press release issued today.
What we know about the USA Today-GPI deal
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the deal is expected to go into effect in January of 2016, prior to the anticipated debut of the Global Poker League, which has a tentative launch date of Q1 of 2016. The GPL is the central piece of GPI CEO Alex Dreyfus’ plans to “sportify” poker, through “immersive events” and, with the aid of USA TODAY Sports, “engaging consumer content.”
“We’re looking forward to working together to create a 24/7 digital poker destination, and to providing coverage for some of the groundbreaking events that GPI is launching,” Jason Ford, VP of Sports Marketing for the USA TODAY Sports Media Group, said in the press release. “The Global Poker Index has done more than any other organization to unify poker and to see the possibilities that exist for creating a ‘big league’ atmosphere around play.”
In the press release, Dreyfus was equally excited about the deal, saying, “We’re extremely pleased to be announcing this multi-year content partnership with USA TODAY Sports.”
“It’s great to have the support and passion of an industry leader like USA TODAY Sports, whose team share in our vision to ‘sportify’ poker. We’re looking forward to working closely with them over the coming years,” Dreyfus added.
Dreyfus also stated his belief that the partnership with USA TODAY Sports will give the GPI a platform where they can showcase their “innovative new events and to promote the players ranked in the Global Poker Index.”
A new type of poker content for a new audience
In addition to the written word and GPI player rankings, the GPI will also produce video content for USA TODAY Sports along with its other media partners (Sporting News) such as the social media-friendly video seen here that was created in the GPI’s dedicated studio.
By using nontraditional poker outlets and social media-friendly content, Dreyfus is hoping to reach an entirely new, and untapped market. “Instead of bringing people to poker, we want to bring poker to people,” Dreyfus explained.
USA TODAY Sports’ powerful reach
Compared to traditional poker media outlets, USA TODAY is certainly capable of reaching people.
USA TODAY Sports has a very strong reach, accounting for 45 million unique views in July of 2015 — good enough for fifth among multi-platform digital sports providers.
With the launch of the Global Poker League, coupled with engaging content on highly visible websites, Dreyfus believes he can convert sports fans into poker fans.