I think it just moved online to places like YouTube or other streaming apps. I still watch high stakes games all the time such as Triton poker in Asia with huge big name pros like Tom Dwan and Phil Ivey.
Yes, correct. But Triton was formed by a couple of Asian billionaires who want to show/feature themselves and friends/pro's etc. playing to an international audience. Its a vanity project, a very welcome one, but a vanity project nonetheless.
And, to underline the point I made above, PokerGo is obviously trying to find an inroad with the Triton series as well. They co-streamed it and seemed to be giving their subscribers the impression PokerGo were covering it...when of course it was streamed on You Tube etc. anyways. As Cary Katz plays in the tourneys I would bet the neighbors first born he's pitched the idea of Triton becoming exclusive to PokerGo. I just hope they see it is not in their interests.
The more poker related content is stuffed behind a paywall, the smaller the potential audience. Anyone in poker should understand this does more than kill a casual audience (think hundreds of thousands that used to watch the WSOP- the biggest global poker event of the year). Why would potential sponsors be interested in poker when they can only reach a limited audience rather than the massive potential an interesting series can generate via You Tube etc.?
As for the general decline in poker productions. I think the industry went through a boom (after Moneymaker) and a (semi) bust. The public became fascinated (temporarily) with poker as it appeared easy to make a fortune. They loved seeing wads of cash, hundreds of thousands be slung around a table. Many tried to play, online and in casino and promptly found it to be a skill game and interest gradually faded.
But, interest in poker has been growing with a new generation of players who understand and are driven to study and play- they are ambitious. Registration at live events/championships have been in record numbers over the last few years. So I think the time is ripe for new productions to spring up. For example, I recently watched a few series of Premier League Poker (series 7, Rast, Colman, Seivers, Koon, Selbst, Gross etc,) via You Tube. I would love to see an up to date version of that show with the likes of Schindler, Chidwick, Soverel, Sontheimer produced by an entity such as ESPN.