World Series of Poker Main Event to Air Live Daily for First Time

For the first time in the 48-year history of the WORLD SERIES of Poker® there will be live* video coverage of the world's richest annual poker tournament every day. (*30-minute delay per gaming regulations) Starting with the opening flight on Saturday, July 8, and continuing daily through the event's conclusion on Saturday, July 22, ESPN, ESPN2 and PokerGO will provide the most comprehensive video account the event has ever seen, as players vie for a first place prize of around $8 million, while competing for approximately $60 million in prize money.

ESPN/ESPN2 will carry an estimated 40+ hours of live WSOP Main Event coverage this year starting with four hours of OPENING DAY action on July 8 as well as providing every-hand coverage of the final table during a three-night primetime finale at 9pm ET July 20, 21 and 22. A final table preview special will air the night prior to the Main Event final table, on July 19 at 10pm on ESPN2.

PokerGO, the world's only live poker subscription service, will cover the WSOP Main Event in tandem with ESPN/ESPN2 to provide an anticipated 60 hours of additional coverage.

"This is poker's Olympics and we are thrilled that ESPN and PokerGO have joined forces to bring viewers around the globe inside access to our game's most prestigious event, the WSOP Main Event and the spectacle that it is," said WSOP Executive Director Ty Stewart. "We can't wait to get started on July 8 and look forward to sharing this event with a massive audience."

Norman Chad, Lon McEachern and Kara Scott anchor all the coverage from the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, and will be joined by a rotating cast of player analysts throughout poker's longest-structured event.

The planned schedule of WSOP live coverage on ESPN/ESPN2/PokerGO will look as follows (all times ET):

July 8	July 9	July 10	July 11	July 12	July 13	July 14
Day 1A	Day 1B	Day 1C	Day 2A/B	Day 2C	Day 3	Day 4
PokerGO	ESPN2	PokerGO	PokerGO	PokerGO	PokerGO	PokerGO
2pm-4pm	2pm-6pm	2:30pm-9:15pm	2:30pm-7:30pm	3:30pm-8pm	2:30pm-9:15pm	2:30pm-8pm
ESPN2	PokerGO		ESPN	ESPN		ESPN2
4pm-8pm	6pm-9:15pm		7:30pm-11pm	8pm-10pm		8pm-11pm
PokerGO			PokerGO			PokerGO
8pm-9:15pm			11pm-11:30pm			11pm-11:30pm

July 15	July 16	July 17	July 18-19	July 20	July 21	July 22
Day 5	Day 6	Day 7	Off Days	Day 8	Day 9	Day 10
ESPN2	ESPN2	PokerGO		ESPN2	ESPN	ESPN
2pm-4pm	2pm-6pm	2:30pm-7pm	July 19	9pm-TBD	9pm-TBD	9pm-TBD
PokerGO	PokerGO	ESPN2	ESPN2	9 players to 6	6 players to 3	Play to winner
4pm-9:15pm	6pm-3am	7pm-9pm	Final Table
		PokerGO	Preview Show
		10:45pm-3am	10pm-11pm

Additionally, ESPN will air original packaged shows starting in September, bringing the total of hours shown on the network to 130 hours annually-live and taped. The edited shows will take the best live action of the 2017 WSOP Main Event combined with additional unaired footage to tell the full and complete story of how the eventual champion was crowned.

PokerGO, the ultimate source for live poker programming, is the exclusive provider of the 2017 WSOP gold bracelet event final table archives now available for streaming on demand, and will also provide WSOP Main Event live coverage on demand within 24-hours after their initial airing.

The WSOP Main Event, originally featuring seven participants in 1970, has grown exponentially and in 2016 featured 6,737 entrants, each paying the $10,000 entry fee and competing for more than $60 million in prize money doled out to the top 15 percent of finishers. Recreational player Qui Nguyen won the event, pocketing $8,005,310, the richest trophy in all of sports, the $500,000 diamond-encrusted champion's bracelet and the title of world champion of poker.

About the WORLD SERIES of Poker

The WORLD SERIES of Poker® is the largest, richest and most prestigious gaming event in the world, having awarded more than $2.4 billion in prize money and the prestigious gold bracelet, globally recognized as the sport's top prize. Featuring a comprehensive slate of tournaments in every major poker variation, the WSOP is poker's longest-running tournament in the world, dating back to 1970. In 2016, the event attracted 107,833 entrants from 107 different countries to the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, and awarded more than $221 million in prize money. In addition, the WSOP has formed groundbreaking alliances in broadcasting, digital media and corporate sponsorships, while successfully expanding the brand internationally with the advent of the WORLD SERIES OF POKER Europe in 2007 and the WORLD SERIES OF POKER Asia-Pacific in 2013 and the WSOP International Circuit Series in 2015. For more information on the WORLD SERIES of Poker, please visit www.wsop.com.

About Poker Central®

Poker Central is the ultimate destination for fans of poker tournaments, cash games, and lifestyle away from the tables. Available globally direct-to-consumer via OTT as well as through network television distribution, Poker Central delivers poker's most premier live events when and where you want them. Poker Central content also goes off the felt, allowing fans to Get in the Game® with peeks behind-the-scenes into the lavish VIP lifestyle of the game's most notable high rollers, virtual journeys to exotic poker destinations around the globe, and the latest news on the game's celebrity players. For more information, visit www.pokercentral.com and find Poker Central on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

About ESPN ESPN, Inc., is the world's leading multinational, multimedia sports entertainment company featuring a portfolio of more than 50 multimedia sports assets. The company is comprised of eight U.S. 24-hour television networks (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNEWS, ESPNU, ESPN Classic, ESPN Deportes, Longhorn Network and the SEC Network) and five HD simulcast services (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS and ESPN Deportes). Other businesses include ESPN Events, ESPN International (24 networks, syndication, radio, digital), ESPN Radio (broadcast, satellite, digital, a growing category led by ScoreCenter), digital services (ESPN.com plus a variety of sport-, college-, and market-specific sites; multi-screen WatchESPN and ESPN3; plus mobile TV and video, apps, alerts and messaging), ESPN The Magazine, consumer products and espnW. Based in Bristol, Conn., ESPN is 80 percent owned by ABC, Inc., which is an indirect subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. Hearst holds a 20 percent interest in ESPN.

To post a comment, you must register and login.