ESPN Expands WSOP Main Event Coverage to More Than 100 Hours
Live ESPN+ streams start July 2, with edited ESPN2 shows and the August final table following later.
ESPN is rolling out its biggest World Series of Poker Main Event package yet, with more than 100 hours of coverage beginning July 2 and running through the live final table on Aug. 3-5.
The schedule follows a multi-year agreement announced in March to bring the WSOP back to ESPN platforms. ESPN described the return as part of its summer lineup, and the network said the tournament would again be one of its marquee poker properties.
The $10,000 buy-in World Championship Main Event is set at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. ESPN+ carries the early action, with live coverage from July 2-8 running from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. ET, then July 9-13 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. ET.
All four Day 1 flights and Days 2-8 are set for daily livestream coverage on ESPN+. The first pre-final-table stream starts July 2 with Day 1a, and the subscription app is the only place to watch that live early-round action in full.
The field will play down to the final table of nine, known as the August Nine, on July 13. Players at that stage are likely to be locked up for at least $1 million.
The live final table returns Aug. 3-5, with ESPN2 carrying Aug. 3 from 9 p.m. to midnight ET, ESPN airing Aug. 4 from 9 p.m. to midnight ET, and ESPN closing the run on Aug. 5 from 10:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. ET.
ESPN2 will also air edited recap episodes of the Main Event on July 21, July 28 and Aug. 10, with reruns scheduled for July 22, 26 and 29, plus Aug. 11, 13, 15 and 19. The broadcast team includes Norman Chad, Lon McEachern, Ali Nejad and Nick Schulman.
ESPN said the coverage will reach more than 400 million homes worldwide. Outside the U.S., the Main Event will be distributed through Warner Brothers networks, with HBO Max carrying live final-table coverage and 45-minute highlight episodes in Europe and Asia, while TNT Sports, HBO Max and Discovery+ will show it in the U.K. and Ireland.
One wrinkle has been access. PokerNews reported that some U.S. fans complained about the paid ESPN App, which it said costs between $12.99 and $29.99 a month, while PokerNews Podcast co-host Mike Holtz said, “I just want the game to grow.”
