Poker Central, the first 24/7 poker TV network finally launched its channel on the 1st of October after running a promotional and advertising campaign for a number of months. Dan Russell, the channel’s senior vice president of programming has enough experience in the television broadcasting industry to know that it is extremely important for Poker Central to telecast unique and quality content that quickly establishes a strong viewer base for the channel.
Poker Central leadership were very keen to bring Dan Russell on board because they believed he was the right man to lead the first poker TV channel.
Russell has worked with some of the leading television networks as the vice president of programming including Discovery Communications, Inc and the Travel Network. One of his biggest accomplishments was when he took over Animal Planet and introduced the Australian program “The Crocodile Hunter,” which revolved around the adventures of the late Steve Irwin. The program turned out to be a great success in the United States.
Russell is once again looking to use a similar strategy when it comes to Poker Central as he is in the process of introducing a number of poker shows from the United Kingdom, Asia, Australia into the United States. Russell believes that this fresh and never seen before content will intrigue U.S poker viewers and keep them coming back for more. Some of those shows include Poker Central Live with Maria Ho, Heads-up Grand Slam Poker, Premiere League Poker and Women’s World Open.
Russell got involved with the poker industry when he worked with the Travel Network and served as a liaison between the Travel Network and the World Poker Tour. During this period of time, Russell got to meet some of the most popular players on the poker circuit and get a look behind the scenes of what happens during these major tournaments. His love and interest for Poker has grown since then and when he was approached with the opportunity of working with Poker Central, he was extremely excited to accept the challenge.
Russell is also working on developing new content for the channel and has a couple of programs in development stage. In a statement, Russell said
The original shows that we produce are primarily going to be shows that are sort of off-the-felt. We have so much we can acquire that is on-the-felt content that we want to give a better perspective of these players, build up the game, because we have some great characters in poker. For us to succeed, we obviously have to satisfy the needs and expectations of the hardcore poker fans, but we also have to bring in a newer and larger audience.
