Poker Central is back in the news just days after announcing its live streaming partnership with the WSOP. The poker network is launching a PokerGO app, requiring customers to pay to view programming.
The subscription-based service will include the $300,000 buy-in Super High Roller Bowl later this month, certain World Series of Poker events, and more.
Poker Central hasn’t released its full 2017 WSOP live streaming schedule, but did announce the PokerGO app will air the $111,111 buy-in One Drop High Roller, a bracelet event, on June 2.
PokerGO is now available for the annual cost of $99, or a $10 monthly subscription. The “old” Poker Central app, which was available on streaming devices such as Roku, no longer exists.
The content has been transferred to the new platform, along with future programming such as the WSOP and Super High Roller Bowl.
What to Expect
Poker Central first launched in the fall of 2015 as a 24/7 poker network. The round-the-clock programming lasted until the end of 2016. At the beginning of this year, the digital programming channel switched to free on-demand shows, eliminating the live feed.
The content has been a mixture of classic programming such as “Poker After Dark” and “High Stakes Poker,” along with original shows “Pokerography” and “Inside Poker with Matt Savage.”
The new PokerGO app will be available on the same live streaming devices in the future. Currently, Poker Central can be viewed on PokerGo.com.
The content will be similar, with the same classic programming available and some new shows mixed in. The only major difference between the old Poker Central app and PokerGO is viewers must now pay to watch.
One complaint many poker fans had about the poker channel was the number of commercials. The new app will be commercial-free. That should make some people happy.
What They’re Saying
Judging by comments on Poker Central’s Facebook page, some poker fans aren’t too thrilled to have to pay for this service. One follower, Richard Casiglio, mentioned popular non-poker streaming apps such as Hulu ($7.99) and Netflix ($9.99) were less expensive than the $10-per-month PokerGO fee.
“You really think with the programming you had people are going to pay $10 a month? FYI I can watch free poker all day long on Twitch. Good luck,” John DeGidio, another follower, said.
Some of the Poker Central programming such as Poker After Dark can be viewed for free on YouTube and elsewhere. But the poker network has plenty of original content that can only be viewed in snippets for free.
All of the comments weren’t negative, but the vast majority were. Haters gonna hate, as Taylor Swift says. But Poker Central will just “shake it off.”
