Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

CBS Sports taking over TV coverage of World Series of Poker

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Steve Marcus

Hossein Ensan of Germany holds up his championship bracelet after winning the World Series of Poker Main Event at the Rio Wednesday, July 17, 2019.

CBS Sports today announced a deal to televise the World Series of Poker Main Event starting this year.

CBS Sports Network reached a multiyear agreement with PokerGo that includes 15 hours of Main Event coverage and 36 hours of 18 additional gold bracelet events, according to a news release.

While ESPN has televised the WSOP for nearly two decades, CBS Sports first broadcast poker in the U.S. and televised the WSOP Main Event throughout the mid-1970s on its “CBS Sports Spectacular” program.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

"CBS Sports has long been a pioneer in covering a broad range of championship sports," Ty Stewart, WSOP executive director, said in a statement. "We couldn't be more excited to see increased television coverage of the WSOP in the coming years and benefit from their growing media platforms.

Dan Weinberg, executive vice president of programming for CBS Sports, said the deal “fits perfectly in our strategy to combine best-in-class events with our CBS Sports brand."

This year’s WSOP is scheduled for live play Sept. 30 to Nov. 23, with the $10,000 buy-in Main Event planned for Nov. 4 through 17 at the Rio, according to parent company Caesars Entertainment.

Last year’s event was contested online because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Additional coverage details will be announced in the coming months with the release of the full WSOP schedule, as well as coverage across other ViacomCBS platforms, including Paramount +.