AOL.com Joins Forces With World Series Of Poker; Premieres AOL-WMG Reality Show “The Biz”

A busy Monday for AOL.com and another couple of examples of the programming side’s emphasis on partnerships.

– AOL is joining forces with Harrah’s License Company for a ride on the poker wave as the exclusive online partner of the World Series of Poker; the deal covers AOL.com, classic AOL and AIM. The two will create a co-branded poker room for AOL users with a suite of free-play WSP games; private poker rooms and tournaments; and other features including behind the scenes reports from WSP events.

AOL will be the only free-play poker game offering in the U.S. with free seats — each valued at $10,000 — in the WSP can be won; a dozen fans 21 or older can win to play in the 2006 or 2007 Main Events. One AOL user will win a seat in the World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions each of those years.

– The first episode of online reality show The Biz” premieres today. Jointly produced by AOL Music and Warner Music Group with Stick Figure Productions, new episodes will appear each day as the competition proceeds in New York. Nine finalists — seven chosen by judges and two by the online audience — are vying to become president of a new WMG label. Sprint Nextel is sponsoring SMS votes. Lyor Cohen, chairman and CEO of U.S. Recorded Music for WMG not only exec produces with AOL’s Kevin Conroy but leads the judging panel and gets the star treatment on the site.

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